The Foreigner
by Kuruk
Summary: When Tak's niece Sophia comes to live in the Valley, she learns that the other girls are heartbroken. To heal the heart, friendship good cooking and laughter are needed and that's exactly what she specializes in! Can the love she finds survive?
1. Prologue

Kuruk's first fanfic ever so please don't be too harsh! If you check my profile you'll see that this particular story starts off the Harvest Moon Universe Series (HMU) which is a four part series so far... Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story and my... unique OC; Sophia.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon and it is a pleasure to write under this title...

Enjoy!

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Prologue

The night Takakura's phone rang was a night like any other.

He had just finished work on the farm, and he'd settled into relative comfort after preparing himself a light Tamamelo Salad and enjoyed a half a cup of wine he kept under his bed for lonely nights.

Mind you, every night was a lonely night for Tak.

Sure, Jack lived a few feet away and Tartan was potted right in his house, but Tak was a lonely man; disregarding everyone else except his best friend's son and the talking plant.

Maybe Vesta, but that was only of he wanted to compare Jack's and her difference in expertise; which was great, but slowly the gap was narrowing.

Still, he was alone.

Ever since he best friend and wife died, Tak had sort of just stayed on the farm until he discovered his best friend's will in the tool shed of all places while he rummaged around for a record he'd left there a while back.

It told him abut Jack; his estranged son he had when his wife divorced him, how he wanted Jack and Takakura to own the farm together…

So Tak had gotten Jack two years ago, and the young man had done well. He'd won a couple of cow, sheep and chicken contests, placing runner-up in goat and duck festivals, beating out Mineral Town's farmer to place runner-up to Vesta in the produce contest…

He was a good farmer.

He was also a good friend.

Jack had not only cultivated plants, but relationships. He was friends with almost everyone in town, even the oddities like Daryl, Cody and Gustafa. Confidant of older women like Romana and Nina, fishing buddy of Galen, often staying over at the Inner Inn at Tim and Ruby's repeated requests, a rival and friend to the Vesta Farm crew, often a rival of Hugh's and Wally's when it came to running, a great help to Flora and Carter at the mine and consequentially a good friend…

Tak could go on and on about Jack, but as the newest resident of Forget-Me-Not Valley had flourished into everyone's favorite farmer, he'd stayed lonely.

So, it was indeed rare that Tak be getting a phone call, especially at this hour. Looking at his alarm clock at his bedside, he confirmed his suspicions. Midnight. Sure Rock, Kassey and Patrick were probably still at the Blue Bar drinking and talking with Muffy and Griffin, but it was too late for anyone to be calling about business.

_So who, _Tak thought, lowering the volume on the TV and placing his wine on the table, _Could be calling _me _at this hour?_

He considered letting it ring, but his manners got the better of him, and he answered the phone.

"Hello?" he said gruffly, trying to sound as annoyed as possible.

A familiar voice spoke back to him, making his large eyebrows rise and usually closed eyes open wide. "Takakura," the voice said in Italian, "It has been a long time, hasn't it brother?"

Tak didn't know what to say…

He hadn't talked to his family in years, thirty, to be exact.

He'd left Sicily and come to the Valley that day, thirty years ago, and ever since then he fell out with his family, his father angry at him for leaving and not taking over the family business or complying with the arranged marriage he'd been put in since he'd been nine.

To hear from his brother again, after so long, it was… _shocking_, to say the least.

"Salvador," Tak breathed, voice dripping with disbelief.

"Is that how you greet family after three long decades, brother?" his brother asked, his voice unfamiliarly weary and tired sounding, probably with age, Tak decided, "I was expecting a great greeting, especially from you. Always the clown, the center of attention. What has happened to you?"

Tak considered not answering, but seeing as how it was his younger brother Angelo, he did. "I got older."

A laugh, strained and artificial reached Tak's ear through the receiver. "Yes," Angelo said, sobering, "I share that pain…"

An uncomfortable silence engulfed them, and Tak was relieved when his brother spoke. "I need a favor, Takakura…"

Tak stayed silent.

His brother had always been the 'ask-for-money-but-never-return-it' kind of guy, at least thirty years ago. Though they'd been close, the money thing kept them from being real friends.

With this memory vivid in his mind, Tak spoke. "How much do you need, Angelo?"

"You wound me, brother, by saying that," Salvador said, sounding offended, "In case you have forgotten, with you gone I took over the winery, and am now well-off. I need no money, I just need a favor."

"Which is?" Tak asked, eager to end the conversation.

Salvador sighed, and spoke.

At hearing the request Tak suddenly became very, very angry. "And you want me to 'take her in'!?" he exclaimed, suddenly livid, "She is your daughter! Your responsibility! Why would you want to send her so far from home!?"

Salvador's voice turned into a hiss. "That is none of your concern. All that matters is that your flesh and blood has asked you for a favor for the first time in thirty years. You owe me," he added, "And the family. You skipped out on Angela, you abandoned your heritage and family, spurned our family's name and threw it into the mud! You left me to clean up your mess, Takakura! You owe me!"

Tak cringed at these words, and upon hearing his brother's sigh of resignation, Salvador spoke again. "She arrives this week Monday at seven in the morning your time," he said, "At the city just a few miles away from that town you live in. I thank you for doing this."

_Click. _The phone line went dead, and Tak sighed, hanging up his phone himself.

Tak fidgeted as the people began to file into baggage claim early Monday morning. He held up a sign that had his niece's name on it, feeling ridiculous holding it up.

He wore his old hat and coat over his usual white shirt; nothing too fancy, it was just to get this girl and take her back to the Valley, was all.

He squinted, trying to make out a family trait or something that reminded him of Salvador, but to no avail. This plane had just arrived from Sicily, after all, and everyone that was getting out had the olive skin and dark hair that Tak remembered Salvador had.

Growing impatient, Tak looked up at the clock, seeing that he should be getting back to the Valley soon if he was going to perform his shipping duties at the farm.

"You must be Takakura," a voice said, and Tak turned to look at a beautiful, olive-skinned woman with beautiful green eyes and long black hair that reminded him of his mother's, "My name is Sophia; your niece. Pleased to meet you," she said in perfect English.

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Since I'm such a nice person, Chapter One will be posted today as well! Hope you enjoyed it! R&R! More good things to come!


	2. The Sicilian in the Valley

Here's the promised Chapter One... Enjoy!

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Chapter One: The Sicilian in the Valley

They took a ferry from the city to Mineral Town and then they walked down a mountain path to get to where Sophia was supposed to be staying for the next 'until-further-notice' period… however long that was.

All the while Takakura and Sophia were silent.

Her uncle's silence didn't phase Sophia one bit; as back home they had decided not to talk to her either for months at a time for something she felt it was her right as a human being to deny.

Sophia sighed, pushing the memories of her family from her mind.

They'd sent her away, but Sophia was jumping for joy. A long time away from her family was exactly what she needed, and this Forget-Me-Not-Valley seemed just like the little town to do it at.

Sicily was definitely a beautiful country, but looking at her surroundings on this mountain pass, Sophia had to say that this place was just as beautiful as the sun-tanned fields she called home.

Trees hid them from the sun, casting shadows on the paved road. All around them, there were wild animals going about their business, looking up once in a while when Sophia accidentally snapped a twig or stepped on some pebbles.

The wind was actually… sweet, Sophia noted, taking large gulps of ear and savoring each one. Each taste filled her with a feeling she couldn't describe…

It frustrated her that she couldn't place what exactly it was that made her feel this way, but she decided to stop thinking about it now and just enjoy the scenery.

Her legs were getting tired from climbing up the pass, and she began to wish that Takakura had brought some method of transportation to carry her up this mountain.

Takakura was ahead, and he stopped at the top, looking at his niece with an expression Sophia pinned down to be pride. She could be wrong, though, as she hadn't eaten all day and the mid-spring sun was now pounding down on her when they'd gone up higher.

"This, Sophia," Takakura said, extending a tanned arm towards the horizon, "Is Forget-Me-Not-Valley."

When Sophia joined him at the top, she gasped in wonder.

The first thing that caught her attention was the vast sea that extended to her left, sparkling as the light reflected off of it. When she managed to turn her head she noticed a lot of houses down what appeared to be Main Street while some were scattered by the beach. On a small hill beyond that was a beautiful Tuscany-style villa that suddenly made Sophia homesick.

She hastily tore her eyes away from the spectacular villa and focused instead on a waterfall that cascaded beautifully, giving birth to a river that disembarked into the dazzling ocean. Now that she noticed it, there seemed to be a tent by the waterfall, and further down that same path a field of crops with two glass structures and two huts.

Takakura pointed at something, interrupting her thoughts, and she squinted her eyes to make out what it was he was pointing at.

There was what appeared to be a barnyard with a small light green field behind it. There were also two small houses, a tall looking building, a forlorn looking shed next to a field if green, and a small building between the bigger house and the forlorn shed.

Sophia blinked and looked to her uncle. "What is that place?"

"That is where you will be staying," he said plainly.

The rest of the trip down was spent in silence again, until a voice called to them from their right.

"Hey, guy! Who's that you have with you!?" the voice asked, so loud Sophia's ears popped.

A large, orange-haired woman in a yellow apron joined them on the pass, and Takakura regarded her with barely open eyes. "Hello Vesta," her uncle said, "This is my niece," Vesta's big eyes widened at that, "Sophia. She'll be staying at the farm with me for a while," he turned to me, "Sophia, this is Vesta. She runs the Vesta Farm."

Before Sophia could open her mouth to greet the gigantic farmer, she patted her back with such force she almost fell over. "A pleasure to meet you, girl!" she roared, a big smile on her face.

Sophia hid her exasperation with a smile, then winced when Vesta roared again. "Marlin! Celia! Get over here, will ya!?"

Sophia heard the door to the house open, and out came a tall, quiet man with an Elvis Presley-like-hair-do. His eyes looked at Vesta questioningly, but then darted to Sophia and stayed there, face an emotionless mask.

From the house also appeared a girl with long brown hair, an orange bandanna in her hair. She wore all green and looked at Sophia with a smile on her face, dark brown eyes looking into Sophia's own cheerfully.

"This is Sophia, Takakura's niece!" Vesta exclaimed.

Marlin quirked an eyebrow at this and looked at Sophia; sizing her up. Celia simply smiled and bowed to Sophia; much to her surprise.

"A pleasure to meet you!" Celia said merrily.

Marlin grunted. "Yo."

Vesta hit him over the head, an angry expression on her face. "Be polite!"

Marlin shot dagger-glances at Vesta and bowed his head. "It's nice to meet you…"

And with that they took their leave, Sophia beginning to fear that everyone in Forget-Me-Not-Valley was this strange.

"Marlin is Vesta's younger brother," Takakura explained, " He and Celia helps at the farm."

Sophia nodded, already deciding that Marlin was too reserved and quiet for her tastes. He hadn't even properly greeted her! He's just done so when Vesta had hit him… The nerve of some people…

As for Celia, she seemed to be nice. Sophia could see herself sitting down for a mid-afternoon chat when she was off from work.

And Vesta… well, she was a bit… loud… Sophia wasn't accustomed to loud. Other than that tiny tidbit about the gigantic farmer, Sophia thought that she was a nice enough woman.

Takakura continued. "Over there," he gestured towards the waterfall, "Lives Professor Carter and his assistant Flora. They work at the dig site and live in the tent near it."

"Are they married?" Sophia asked.

Takakura shook his head no, much to Sophia's disgust.

A woman and a man living together out of wedlock!? That was unheard of back in her country!

Takakura, sensing her outrage, spoke up as they walked across a wooden bridge. "The rules here are different than in Sicily, Sophia," he explained, "Men and women have more liberties here and are not expected to marry so soon. Courtships are longer here. You might also find that some of the younger townspeople are in relationships. As for people like Carter and Flora, they aren't in a relationship, so it's perfectly fine… Not to say that it's fine to live with someone even if you _are _in a relationship…"

Sophia turned this over in her mind. Years of programming told her it was a sin, but the part of her that had rebelled smiled, perfectly happy to have the liberty of _getting to know _a man before you married him.

Yes, she would definitely enjoy this place.

"Over there," Takakura said, pointing towards the ocean, "Lives a couple of… oddballs. There's a musician named Gustafa," he pointed at a colorful yurt, "The town scientist, Darryl," he pointed at a house that had many odd machines outside it, a current of electricity visible above it, "Cody, a metallurgist," he pointed at a trailer, "And over there," he pointed at a barren area with what looked like a water tower inside it, "Live Kassey and Patrick; the Pyrotechnic Twins. They make fireworks…"

Sophia took this all in and nodded, they came to a pleasant looking two-story building that looked oriental. Takakura held the door open for her, and she hesitantly entered.

Takakura followed her and led her into a room covered by a curtain, where several people were sitting eating lunch.

They all turned to look at the new arrival, and a plump woman smiled and spoke up. "Well hello, Takakura," she said with a smile, "Who is that young lady with you?"

"This is my niece, Sophia. She's going to be staying at the farm with me from now on."

This earned looks of surprise from the people gathered there, and the plump woman spoke again, a cheery smile not unlike Celia's on her face. "Hello Sophia. My name is Ruby. This is my husband Tim," a man with a big nose and a hat on his head nodded, a friendly smile on his face, "My son Rock," a blonde boy with tanned skin that looked nothing like his 'parents' smiled and waved, "And our… daughter Nami," a fiery-redhead looked surprised at being called 'daughter', but nodded coolly at Sophia anyway.

"Never thought old Tak even had a family," Rock said, a big goofy smile on his face, "He's always just… been here…"

Tim smiled and put his fork down. "You're welcome to stay at the Inner Inn if Takakura can't make room for you at the farm."

"Yes," Ruby said, "You're welcome here anytime."

Sophia, taken aback by their kindness, bowed as Celia had done. "Thank you."

"Ruby is an awesome cook," the girl named Nami told Sophia, her face a mask like Marlin's.

Ruby laughed and Takakura excused them for interrupting and left after Ruby had insisted she come eat one day.

Maybe one day Sophia would.

They continued and came to a small, square-looking house. The door opened before Takakura even knocked and a little old lady with a ladybug hat walked out, leaning on her cane while she inspected the newcomer.

"Oh dear," she said, her voice kind and soothing, "Who is this beautiful young lady with you, Takakura?"

Sophia blushed, not accustomed to being called 'beautiful'. "This is my niece, Sophia. She'll be staying with me from now on," the old lady opened her mouth as if she was about to say 'oh', but stayed silent, "This is Nina, she lives here with her husband Galen."

As if on cue, and old man wearing a fishnet hat walked out. Sophia quickly got the impression that he was the typical grump, but she was proved otherwise. "Oh, Nina," he said in a gruff voice, "Who is this?"

Nina explained and Galen nodded, a grin on his face. "A pleasure, Miss Sophia. Glad you'll be staying here from now on."

Sophia nodded and Galen and Nina excused themselves, saying that they were taking a walk to the 'Goddess Spring'. Once they were gone Takakura led her to a another small building with a sign that said 'BAR' outside.

"I'm taking a break, Griffin!" a bubbly voice cried from inside, and the door opened to reveal a dazzling blonde woman in a red dress, green eyes looking at Sophia with interest.

"Hi, you're new here, right?" she asked, and Sophia nodded, astonished by what she was wearing, "My name's Muffy!" she gave a small chuckle and tipped over to the side, a smile on her face, "Nice to meet you!"

Sophia responded in kind and Takakura cleared his throat. "Muffy works here at the Blue Bar with Griffin. Muffy, this is my niece Sophia. She'll be staying at the farm from now on."

Muffy smiled again and when a middle-aged man with brown hair and unshaven face walked out, Muffy repeated what Takakura had just said to him.

He smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you," Griffin said, "Drop by for a drink sometime. You'll find that most of the town drops by on evenings. It'll help you get acquainted with everyone."

Sophia nodded and after Muffy left for Mineral Town and Griffin reentered the bar, Takakura took her to a well where a man and a woman were standing. The man was stretching vigorously while the woman called for someone called 'Hugh'.

The man was the first to look up, clad in sweats and a stop-watch dangling from his neck. "Oh!" he exclaimed, voice full of energy, "Someone new?"

Takakura nodded and told the man and woman about Sophia, then turned to Sophia. "This is Wally and his wife Chris. They have a son named Hugh. You can usually find them training."

Sophia cocked her head at the mention of training. "I'm an athlete you see," Wally exclaimed, a strange twinkle in his eyes, "My wife is my trainer and my son Hugh trains with me everyday."

Chris smiled, orange hair in a hairdo Sophia saw on American sitcoms. "It's nice to meet you, Sophia. I hope you'll like it here!"

Sophia nodded and watched as Wally took off jogging, Chris behind him, consulting a stopwatch she held in her hand.

With that, they set up the hill to the villa that had reminded her of home.

Oblivious to the bitterness Sophia as feeling, Takakura knocked at the door, revealing an older man in formal attire, a smile on his face, hair gray with age.

"If it isn't Takakura!" he said, looking at Sophia, "Who is this? A new arrival?" Takakura nodded and the man called for someone called 'Miss Romana' and 'Miss Lumina'.

An old lady leaning on an umbrella appeared, peering at the visitors through small glasses, her white hair poofy and unmanageable looking. Beside her was a teenaged girl with light brown hair up to her neck, a yellow headband in her hair. Her brown eyes inspected Sophia with barely concealed interest.

Takakura explained who Sophia was. "This is Romana," the old lady nodded, a friendly smile on her face, "Her granddaughter Lumina," the girl nodded, a friendly smile like her grandmother's on her face, "And their butler, Sebastian," the man that opened the door smiled at Sophia.

"A pleasure, Miss Sophia," Sebastian said.

"Yes, yes!" Roman said, "Happy that you chose the Valley!" she lowered her voice, "It gets boring without fresh blood, you know…"

Lumina smiled and patted her grandmother on the back. "I hope we can be friends, Sophia!" Lumina said.

After that, Takakura informed her that the introductions were gone, and he took her back to the far she'd gotten a view from. Now that she saw it clearly she noticed more.

There were animals grazing behind the farm; two cows, a horse, and two sheep. They made content noises at seeing Takakura, and he nodded in their direction.

Beside one of the houses was a doghouse with a cute, long eared dog that ran up to Takakura, sniffing at Sophia curiously. On the other side of the house was a small green patch of soil with three thin trees sticking out. She recognized peaches growing, and she licked her lips, not having eaten since she'd left Sicily.

"Tak?" a timid voice asked, and Sophia wheeled around to see the source, "Who… is this?"

Sophia looked at the man before her. He had brown hair fixed in spikes, big brown eyes. On his back he wore a rucksack over a white button-on shirt with a red handkerchief tied around the neck. Faded blue jeans hid his legs from view.

"Oh… Jack…" Takakura said, approaching the farmer, "This is my niece, Sophia. She's going to be staying here, if that's alright with you, of course."

Something about the way Tak explained this to Jack told him about her situation, though he really didn't know what it was. He turned his kind eyes to Sophia, and smiled, eyes closed.

"Sure…" he said, then opened his eyes, "My name's Jack… I'm the farmer here… Nice to meet you, Sophia…"

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Okay, that's it for today! Once again, R&R! Chapter 2 will be uploaded on Sunday!


	3. Friendships and Such

_Ekoaleko: Thank you for the first review! I'm flattered that you added this to your favorites list and think so highly of my writing! A cookie for you!_

I've actually written up to Chapter 9, so I'll add two more chapters after this one as a treat and a tactic to get myself writing faster! It starts to get more Sophia-centric now and actually explores more of her personaility. Enjoy!

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Chapter Two: Friendships and Such

Uncle Takakura, as Sophia called him now, had at first decided that she would stay in his house while he bunked with Jack. However, she had instead taken residence in the dejected shed that wasn't in use, leaving her uncle and Jack to remain in comfort.

Sophia slept well that night, in fact, while she was settling into bed Jack appeared at her doorstep bearing odd-colored curry. He'd called it 'Red Curry', and she'd discovered that it was, in fact, tasty. Different than the pasta she was accustomed to, but good.

She awoke to the sounds of the livestock, and she quickly dressed and exited her 'room', temporarily blinded by the brilliant sun.

It was mid-Spring, and Jack's crops were almost ready for harvest. The farmer in question was brushing his cow, which mooed happily as the farmer lovingly brushed some of the dirt of her shimmering coat.

Smiling a bit, Sophia slipped out of the farm, not wanting to disturb the farmer while he worked.

Now on the path that led to a forested area, Sophia looked around, confused as what exactly she'd do.

"Hello," a familiar bubbly voice said from behind her, "You're Sophia, right?"

Sophia turned to find the blonde from before, Muffy, smiling at her. "Yes," Sophia said, "And you're Muffy."

Muffy nodded happily and walked up to Sophia. "How are you feeling? Sleep well?" she asked.

Sophia scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess…"

Muffy caught a glimpse of Jack watering his crops and giggled, making Sophia quirk an eyebrow.

At seeing Sophia's look, Muffy blushed darkly. She shrugged and led Sophia into town. "Sexy, isn't he?"

Sophia blinked, unsure to who it was Muffy was talking about. "Err… who are you talking about now…?"

Muffy halted and pointed towards the farm. "Jack of course! C'mon, you can't tell me you don't think he's hot!? The guy's nice, hardworking, not to mention cute," Muffy's eyes filled with longing, "The perfect catch to settle down with… have a family… grow old with…"

Sophia cleared her throat, uncomfortable with what Muffy was talking about.

Sure, she thought Jack was… attractive… but she wouldn't consider him 'sexy'. No, in fact, if the Sicilian had to choose whether or not to go on a date with the farmer, she would opt not to.

Muffy giggled and looked at Sophia. "How about I take you to the bar and give you a lowdown on all the guys here?" she asked, a hopeful look flittering on her face.

"O-okay…" Sophia replied, and Muffy giggled and ran to the bar, where she sat Sophia down at the counter and jumped over it herself.

"Griffin's not here so you can't order any drinks… sorry." Muffy said apologetically.

"Its okay, Muffy," Sophia reassured her, "I don't drink…"

At the sound of that Muffy leaned on the counter and started talking, a smile on her face. "As you know, there's Jack. Farmer, 23, currently single… Been here for… hmm… two years already? Well, quite the catch. He hasn't dated since he came to the Valley, but he's gotten hit on by everyone from Celia to Nami… which is saying a lot, since Nami is practically a drone…"

Sophia flashed back to Nami, who had seemed despondent and rude when Tak had taken her to see the residents of the Inner Inn… She… did seem to be a drone, didn't she?

Muffy continued, moving on to the next boy. "Then there's Marlin… 26, total grouch that works at Vesta Farm… Let's see, there's Rock, who lives at the Inner Inn. 21, loves to party, no job… Fun to be around, but hardly someone stable enough to marry… There's Griffin of course, but he's old and not in the dating game. Same goes for Carter.

"There's Gustafa… free spirit and all that… not the kind of guy us gals wanna get together with since he doesn't have a job… Darryl," a sour expression came on her face, "No! Plus he always stalks Flora! Umm… who else…? There's… oh _yeah_, the guys from Mineral Town…"

"Don't they live in Mineral Town?" Sophia asked, "Wouldn't it be hard to err… woo them…?"

Muffy's face lit up. "_Woo_?" she repeated in an amused tone, "Geez, Sophia… Where exactly are you from…?"

"Sicily…" Sophia said.

Muffy scratched her head absently. "Isn't that in Italy…?"

"Basically…" Sophia replied.

"So…" Muffy said, "If you don't mind me asking… what exactly is an Italian girl doing in the Valley so far away from home?"

Sophia bit her lip, and getting the message, Muffy backed off. "Right! The Mineral Town boys!" she changed the subject smoothly, "They come over every week… Grey on Thursdays, Rick on Sundays, Cliff on Sundays, Doctor Tim on Wednesdays… and Kai all summer… And then everyone except Kai comes on Festivals and Saturdays."

"Who is this Kai person?" Sophia asked.

Muffy smiled. "Hottie. 22, single, runs the Snack Stand on the beach during the Summer," Muffy frowned, "Downside is that he only stays for summer and leaves afterwards. No girl, not even Popuri, a girl from Mineral Town who was dating him for a while, managed to get him to settle down. He's a wild card…"

Sophia quickly changed the subject, already knowing that this Kai wasn't for her. She needed someone stable, not someone who took off all year and only returned for summer.

"Go on…" Sophia said, and Muffy obliged.

She told him of Rick, Popuri's gawky brother who worked at the chicken farm, Cliff, the wanderer who had settled down in Mineral Town working at Aja Winery, Grey, the bitter grandson of the grumpy Blacksmith Saibara and of Doctor Tim, the dedicated doctor who spent his days at the Mineral Clinic.

Then she started talking about the complex relations these boys had been involved in. Kai and Popuri, Karen and Rick, Mary and Grey, Tim and Eli, Ann and Cliff. She told her of the Mineral Town girls and of their failed relationships and how the boys acted.

When Muffy finally finished, it was already evening and Griffin had returned, watching Muffy and the new girl become friends.

Soon, the door opened and people filed in.

Among them were the reserved Nami, the cold Marlin, the older Pyrotechnic Twins, a man who introduced himself as Professor Carter, and the carefree Rock.

Muffy became engulfed in her work and in the meantime Sophia began talking with the Valley's citizens, learning more about them like Carter's dislike to Flora's cooking, the Twins' hatred of being confused for one another, Rock's 'life goal'…

The clock struck nine and Sophia took her leave of the Blue Bar.

She went into the night and empty street of the Valley, still hearing the jazzy music of the bar and the drunken cries of the patrons.

"Sophia!" Muffy called.

Sophia turned to see the blonde running towards her. "Muffy…?"

Muffy smiled and stopped just a few feet away from her. "Tomorrow's the Cooking Festival at the beach. No one works and the guys and girls from Mineral Town drop by, wanna come?"

Sophia considered then nodded. "Okay, I guess…"

Muffy jumped, face alive with delight. "Great! I'll pick you up around nine so that we can hear the Mr. Gourmet's announcement for the food type!"

"Mr.… Gourmet?"

"Fat like a blow-fish, really ugly. Judge of the Cooking Festival. I'll see you tomorrow, I have to get back!" Muffy yelled in realization, running back to the bar.

Sophia smiled. Her first day over and she'd already made a friend… Granted, a man obsessed friend that was basically stalking all the guys in both towns and had files on them, but a friend nonetheless…

When she got back to the farm her uncle was waiting for her by the shed, a worried look on his face. "Where were you?" he asked.

"At the Blue Bar with Muffy," Sophia replied, opening the door to the shed.

She closed it after saying 'goodnight'.

Behind the door, Tak smiled.

_Good thing she made a friend…_

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_Yay! _R&R!


	4. The Cooking Festival

It gets interesting now!

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Chapter Three: The Cooking Festival

Sophia was already up by the time Muffy knocked at her door.

When Sophia opened it she was dressed and ready to go. Muffy, however, looked very exhausted.

"What's wrong…?" Sophia asked her as she closed the door behind her and looked at her new friend's droopy face.

"I usually wake up at ten…" Muffy said exhaustedly, "I had to work until midnight yesterday because Gustafa came in when Rock and the twins were still there… He started singing and playing his guitar and before I knew it Rock was dancing on the counter and Kassey and Patrick were singing along…" she shuddered, "Griffin had to kick them out…"

Sophia stifled a laugh with an obviously artificial cough. Muffy, however, was too tired to notice, and Sophia literally had to drag her to the beach for the Festival.

Already assembled there was Rock, a redhead she didn't recognize, a beautiful blonde, Ruby, Tim, Gustafa, Darryl, Flora; who was avoiding Darryl, and a few boys from both the Valley and Mineral Town.

Muffy, fully awake at having seen the boys, grabbed Sophia's hand and led her to the tight-knit crowd of both Valley and Mineral Town's boys.

"Hi boys," Muffy purred seductively, "I have a new friend that _just _got here yesterday all the way from Italy. Her name's Sophia and she's old Tak's niece."

A man in a white lab coat spoke up first. "Pleased to meet you, Sophia. My name's Tim. I'm the doctor at Mineral Town."

A sandy-haired brunette with glasses spoke up. "I'm Rick, Popuri's older brother. I work at the Poultry Farm in town. Nice to meet you."

A brunette with wide, sad eyes spoke up timidly. "Umm… I'm Cliff… Nice to meet you…"

A blonde with a blue cap with the letters 'UMA' covering most of his forehead spoke. "Grey… I work as the blacksmith _assistant _in Mineral Town…"

"You know Marlin and Rock, of course," Muffy cut in. Sophia nodded to the familiar faces, getting a perky 'Hi' from Rock and a grunt of acknowledgement from Marlin.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Muffy spoke again, much to everyone's relief. "Okay, guys, see you! I've gotta introduce Sophia here to the girls!"

And with that, Muffy took Sophia's hand and ran towards the crowd of girls.

"She's… pretty…" Cliff admitted, blushing slightly as he watched her meet Ann and the others.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Pretty, yes. But I'll have to talk with her _without _Muffy present to determine if she has a mind of her own or not."

Rock shrugged and dug his hands in his pockets. "Whatever…"

Grey sighed deeply and stretched. "Whatever…" he repeated.

"So, Rick," Marlin asked, changing the subject, "How's Popuri? Still seeing that Kai guy?"

Rick's face lit up in fury at the sound of Kai. "No. She dumped him after he refused to commit, thank the Goddess… That guy's nothing but trouble."

"Hey," Rock said, "He isn't bad. He's cool."

The Doctor nodded in agreement, joining in on Kai's defense. "He's a good person, beneath the exterior he puts up. Despite what some may say I believe he genuinely cared about Popuri."

"The guy's a womanizer!" Rick exclaimed, his face contorted in fury, making him look both ugly and like he was choking, "He comes every summer and lures all the girls over to his 'Snack Shop' so that he can hit on them! That no good-,"

"_Rick!_" two voices cried out in unison.

The boys turned to see Karen and Popuri staring at them from the crowd of girls, all of the girls looking at the boys in anger.

"Some things never change, huh?" Cliff asked, sighing in relief when Ann finally looked away from him.

"Absolutely…" Gray agreed, ignoring Mary's own glances.

The boys shifted against the stares of their former girlfriends, and finally settled into talking about things like football and drinking…

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"I swear," Popuri huffed, round face puffed out in annoyance, "That stupid no-good brother of mine has no respect for my relationships…"

"Absolutely," Karen agreed, just as angry with Rick, "That idiot you call your brother is such a stupid, pasty-faced numskull I just want to…" she let her voice trail off, bitter and sad at the same time.

"Cliff is so dense," Ann chimed in, arms crossed against her chest, "I wanted to marry him and he just went on and on about how much of a tomboy I was… that jerk!"

"Dense?" Celia said sarcastically, "I've been living with Marlin for five years now and the idiot never noticed that I wanted to date him…"

"You call that dense?" Muffy added her voice to the angry chorus of scorned women, "For two years I've hit on Jack every day! The guy never once notices I want him to give me a flower, or watch the fireworks with him at the Fireworks Festival! Boys are such…"

"Morons," Flora agreed, usually calm voice alive with resentment, "Carter had never made a move on me and I _live with him!"_

Mary, who had been quiet and on the verge of tears when the topic of the boys came up, finally spoke up. "We agreed not to talk about them anymore!" she exclaimed, her voice breaking, "We're over them! No matter how stupid or rude or dense they are!"

Eli nodded in agreement with Mary, and Sophia, who had felt left out the whole time, inched closer to Nami, who was skulking silently in the circle.

Lumina consoled Mary while she cried and the other girls settled down. "Sorry Mary…" Popuri apologized sweetly, "It's just that Kai…"

"And Jack," Muffy added.

"And Jack," Popuri added to her own apology.

"And Rick," Karen said, making a fist.

"And my brother," Popuri added, annoyed.

"And Carter," Flora said, her voice restored to her trademark monotone.

Popuri was angry now. "And Carter…"

"And don't forget Marlin!" Celia added.

Finally Popuri burst. "Alright! All the freaking guys!" she huffed in exasperation, her pink hair swishing with her frantic movements, her voice turned sweeter when she turned to Mary, "They… hurt us. We can't just forget about it that quickly…"

Mary sniffled into Lumina's handkerchief. "I know… Grey hurt me too… But it's better not to talk about it as much as we do; it's not healthy…"

"She's right," Eli agreed, "We need to get our minds off those guys somehow…"

The girls pondered that just as a bloated man in a purple suit stepped onto the stage, monocle flashing in the sunlight. "Welcome all! I'm looking forward to good cooking this year! This year's ingredient will be… tomatoes!" he exclaimed, "Be back by noon to commence judging, contestants…"

"Shoot," Ann said, burying her face in her hands, "I don't know what to make with tomatoes!"

Suddenly an idea occurred to Sophia. "Guys," she said, making all the girls look at her, "I have the perfect idea on how to win this contest _and _get your minds off the boys…"

The Sicilian smiled evilly, and the girls gathered around her.

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"Darn, Sophia," Muffy said in awe as she watched the Sicilian at work, "I never knew that you could cook…"

Sophia snorted and stopped mixing her sauce to turn to Muffy. "Doubting an Italian can cook is considered an insult," she said as a matter-of-factly, "Our mothers teach us… It's kind of a family tradition that the women in the family pass the skill of cooking down."

The girls were all gathered in the Inner Inn's kitchen, cooking.

Though it had never been heard of, the eleven girls were working on the same dish. They would enter it under the name 'The Girls'. Eli had checked with Mr. Gourmet before they did it just to be safe, and now they were actually having fun.

Karen, Flora and Muffy were left out of the cooking process since they had infamy of being terrible cooks. Sophia, Ann, Eli and Celia were cooking the actual food while Lumina, Mary, Popuri and Nami chopped the vegetables and ran around the kitchen supplying the cooks with the necessary ingredients.

"That smells delicious…" Popuri purred as she brought some oregano to Sophia, who was in charge of the sauce.

"It's my special marinara sauce, homemade, all organic ingredients… Perfection…" Sophia said, totally immersed in the cooking process.

Ann bit her lip while she stirred the pasta a bit. "Do you think Ruby will mind that we're using the kitchen, Nami?"

The redhead shrugged, handing some diced peppers to Muffy, who took it to Sophia. "We got here first, and although Ruby cooks for these things, I think she went to your house to use the kitchen there, Lumina…"

Lumina, the youngest of the group at sixteen, nodded. "Yep. She asked grandma if she could and she said yes."

Mary laughed while she handed some more chopped veggies to Karen. "This is fun!" she exclaimed, "Like something out of one of those sisterhood novels!"

The girls laughed at that. It was fun… and something about cooking together bonded them in ways they never would have in just three hours.

"Think we'll win?" Eli asked as she returned from the fridge with some parsley which she arranged beautifully on the plate.

Sophia smirked smugly as she tasted her sauce. "Oh yeah, no doubt in my mind," she said, offering some of the sauce to the girls.

When they tried it, they agreed, and after just twenty minutes, they ran out of the Inn happier than they'd been in a long time, laughing as they ran down to the beach.

The judging was set to begin, and Mr. Gourmet frowned as he observed that there were less dishes to judge this year.

Well, at least _Karen _hadn't cooked anything… If he had to try one of those burnt monstrosities again he'd keel over and die…

"Let's get to judging!" Mayor Thomas announced, and the crowd cheered as Gourmet stepped forward to taste the first dish.

"First up is Jack!" the Mayor announced, and Jack stepped up, proudly watching as Gourmet tried his dish, "Jack made some French fries with 'special ketchup'! Let's see what Mr. Gourmet thinks…"

Mr. Gourmet smiled as he looked up from the food. "You used first class tomatoes to make this! Not only that but you added a lot of other ingredients to give your ketchup that wonderful flavor so many people get hooked on! Definitely excellent!"

Jack smiled in contentment and walked down the line. "Next is Ruby!" the Mayor announced, and the innkeeper stepped forward, a look of confidence on her plump face.

Tim and Rock cheered from the crowd, as Gourmet sampled the dish. "Ruby made something she picked up while traveling is South America!"

Gourmet finished and smiled widely at Ruby. "You never cease to amaze me, dear Ruby! Your cooking is excellent! The tomato compliments all the special sauces you added perfectly. Even though I have no idea what this is… it is definitely a perfect meal!"

Ruby bowed and walked down the line, everyone already suspecting that she'd won. "Next is Lilia!" the mayor exclaimed, and Rick could be heard cheering from the crowd. Popuri's mother walked up, face that looked so much like her daughter's smiling in pride for her dish.

"Lilia cooked some scrambled eggs with ketchup!" the Mayor announced, short penguin-like body quivering with each work he exclaimed.

Gourmet smiled again; definitely a good sign. "Not only is your ketchup on par with Jack's, but those eggs wee scrumptious! I love it! Definitely has a mother's touch!"

Lilia bowed slightly and walked back to Rick and Tim, who had come to the Valley for the sole reason of watching over her to make sure her illness didn't act up.

"Next is Doug!" the Mayor announced, and Ann's tall and redheaded father stepped up, moustache quivering as h inspected Gourmet, "Doug made a salad topped with a special tomato dressing and sliced tomatoes!"

Gourmet, like always, smiled at Doug's creation. "This is perfection… The sauce compliments the salad and fuses with everything to produce the melodious overall effect."

Doug walked down the line and finally it was time for the girls' dish. "Last but certainly not least are 'the Girls'!" the Mayor announced with a smile, "That's Ann, Eli, Karen," Gourmet cringed at that name, "Popuri, Mary, Muffy, Celia, Flora," Gourmet cringed again, "Nami, Lumina and last but certainly not least Sophia who just moved here from Sicily!"

There were less cheers, as the boys were not on good terms with the girls, but enough nonetheless. Gourmet hesitated just as Thomas began to describe the dish. "This team effort yielded spaghetti with meatballs topped with 'Special Sicilian Marinara Sauce!'"

Gourmet finally tried it, eyes squeezed shut…

The crowd waited for his reaction…

The girls were holding their breath…

Sophia smirked…

Gourmet jumped up and in one fluid motion licked the whole portion off the plate with one giant lick from his tongue. The crowd gasped, but the girls were still silent…

"This… is… truly… perfection… you… have… not… lived… until… you… taste… this… dish…! Without… a… doubt… 'the… Girls'… are… the… _WINNERS!!!"_

The girls jumped for joy, hugging and squealing at the prospect of winning (mostly Karen and Flora). The crowd cheered wildly for them and the guys, shocked in the corner, gaped at them as they received the prize.

After being congratulated, Muffy screamed that they were getting drinks on the house at the bar and as one, the girls rocketed off towards the Blue Bar (Karen leading, of course).

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The next is rather short while this one was LONG... Te next will be the last one submitted today. R&R...


	5. The Sisterhood is Formed

The final chapter I'll be submitting today! Don't fret! Chapter Five: Summer's Here! will be onsite by Sunday and will then go on a weekly pattern (the story will be updated every Sunday). If you're nice and review a lot I may submit two one Sunday...

Anyway, this chapter sets the tone for the story. NOTE: The girls have broken up with their original pairings! I have plans for this.

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Chapter Four: The Sisterhood is Formed

It was past midnight and still the girls were at the Blue Bar, drinking and relishing in their victory, laughing at each other's jokes and at nothing in particular when there was nothing that was particularly funny.

Sophia had never had so much fun in her entire life and she was sure that the others felt the same way.

Everyone, included introverted Nami and usually shy Mary were socializing like they had known each other all their lives.

Karen, who was not even tipsy after twelve beers, lifted up her thirteenth high. "To us!" she yelled.

"To us!" they all replied in unison, lifting up their drinks (a virgin in Lumina's case).

Popuri giggled giddily, sipping on her Piña Colada. "We beat those losers good!" she exclaimed.

"Amen to that!" Muffy seconded, downing her shot of Tequila.

"I could use another…" Mary muttered, looking at her empty wine glass in disappointment.

"Okay!" Muffy exclaimed, serving her more wine, making Mary giggle.

Sophia sipped her own beer slowly, not feeling tipsy yet as she had only had two so far. "So," she cried, looking at the girls mischievously, "What do we think of the _boys?_"

"_Who!?"_ Celia cried.

"Are you talking about another species?" Nami inquired, ordering another Moon Trip with a rare smile.

"Yeah, because," Ann said, taking a sip of her sour apple martini, cheeks as red as her hair, "They sound like a totally useless group of idiots!"

Intense laughter, which died down after a while, leaving the eleven feeling empty. "Who are we kidding!?" Eli exclaimed, knocking over her glass of whiskey (which was thankfully empty), "I don't know about you girls but I want to live the fairy tale and get married, have kids, grow old together…"

The mood became solemn. "I don't want to be a spinster with a _billion cats_!" Muffy cried, burying her face in her hands.

"I don't want to become another Vesta!" Celia seconded, appalled by the idea of becoming a woman like Vesta that stayed alone for so many years.

Even Sophia, who had not had the man troubles her new friends had gone through, looked down into her lap and sighed. "I want someone to love too…" she announced.

Lumina, who had not had any alcohol, scratched her head, lacking the fervor the other women possessed. "I always wanted a romantic first meeting, a romantic courtship, and a romantic proposal…"

Nami gripped the counter. "I'm sure traveling around aimlessly wouldn't be so bad if you had someone to share the sights with…"

"Yeah…" Popuri agreed, remembering Kai's offer to go traveling with her… She sniffled and buried her face in Karen's blonde hair, who patted her friend's head comfortingly.

"Even though Rick was an idiot… I was happy whenever he and I were together…" Karen said sadly, ignoring her drink for the first time in her life.

"But I can never go back to Grey…" Mary said.

"We don't have to…" Sophia muttered, and all the girls looked at her as they had on the beach hours before, "Why don't we… get new men?"

"How?" Flora asked, "I mean, who else is there?"

"There's Jack," Sophia said, and all the girls looked at her again, "And Rock, and Marlin, and Kai, and Rick, and Grey and Cliff and every man here in these two villages!"

"B-but-," Mary sniffled.

"Choose someone else!" Sophia cried, "You must like other men besides those you dated!"

The girls looked at each other with questioning glances. "How about this," Sophia started, the gears in her head turning now despite the fogginess of the alcohol, "Every Saturday, we meet here. We'll discuss the guys and who we like but we don't judge or get jealous. We use this week to test the waters with the men and then next week we come back with who we like. Deal?"

The girls thought about it, and slowly, they all agreed.

Sophia raised her beer. "To the Sisterhood!" she exclaimed.

"To the Sisterhood!" the girls repeated in unison, clinking glasses with smiles on their faces.

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Sunday, Sunday, just wait until Sunday, it's only three days away!


	6. Summer's Here!

My apologies for being late in updating...

King of Applepie: Sophia has Hilary Clinton booked for the next Sisterhood meeting! Heheh...

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Chapter Five: Summer's here!

The first meeting of the Sisterhood was held that next Saturday; the day before summer started.

Sophia had cooked a big a pot of pasta and meatballs which they ate in the Blue Bar while they talked about what they'd learned about the men they liked and how they were dealing with the feelings about the breakup.

Karen started off the night, and she ate her food thoughtfully just before she spoke. "Rick was my childhood friend for all twenty-four years of my life," she said solemnly, "I loved him… But it didn't work out," she lightened up and looked at the girls with a smile, "But, I discovered that I like…" she looked at Mary, "Grey…"

Mary said nothing, and the other girls looked at her as if she were crazy. "I never thought he was your type," said Muffy.

"Isn't he too much of a grouch…?" Celia added.

Karen nodded. "I dunno… I'm just… attracted to him… it's just…" she shivered slightly, "It scares me that I like Gray, but I'll go with it."

Silence.

The girls all looked at Mary, who was twirling the pasta thoughtfully with a silver fork. "I… loved Gray… but…" she paused, "But we broke up… so I had to look for someone new… I chose the doctor…" she said, and everyone kind of figured Mary would choose him as he was just like her; dedicated to his work, serious and at times shy…

It was Eli's turn now. Eli played with her short hair before answering. "I loved Tim… but we broke up, so I moved on… I discovered that I like…" she blushed furiously, "Rick…"

Popuri blinked in surprise and Karen, who had been drinking wine, spit it all out. "Huh?" everyone said at once.

"He's very loving and dedicated to his mother… I admire that and hope that he'll be as dedicated to… me as he is to her," she turned to Popuri, "I admire that about both of you, Poppy…"

Since Karen had already announced her interest, it was Popuri's turn since she was related to Rick. "Kai and I were together…" she stated sadly, "But he couldn't commit… so we broke up and I found someone new. That someone is… Marlin."

Celia kind of blanked out at hearing this, and all the girls were just as surprised about this as they were about the Karen-Grey possibility. "I dunno," Popuri said in frustration, "He's… cold and he's like a jerk and everything but I… just like him… I dunno why… I just do…"

After that startling pairing, they turned to Celia, who had broken out of her silence. "I like Marlin… but he didn't like me back. So I thought I'd try dating Jack."

Everyone knew that Celia always had a thing for Jack, so it wasn't a big surprise that she'd chosen Forget-Me-Not-Valley's newest farmer to pursue.

It was Muffy's turn, and she sighed. "After much consideration… I decided that I'll go after Rock…" after getting astonished glances, she cleared her throat, "I've been noticing that he's… been pursuing me for a while now but I always liked Jack more… But now that I have Jack out of my mind… I've realized I like him too…"

Since no one had actually gone after Rock, it was a free turn, so Flora volunteered. "I liked Carter, but he always ignored me… but even so I haven't been able to choose anyone… sorry."

Nami volunteered to go afterwards, and she spoke the name simply. "Cliff…" she said, "I decided that traveling with someone like him would be fun."

That's all she wrote, and eyes turned to Ann, who was clearly running out of men to pick. She cleared her throat and spoke up. "I-I… don't know! It's not like choosing which brand of flour to be at the Supermarket!" The girls understood and moved on to the next candidate

Lumina was too young, so it was Sophia's turn by forfeit. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I… haven't chosen guys… sorry…" she said, and the girls nodded in understanding.

In reality, Sophia had chosen Jack. But seeing as how Celia had decided that she would pursue him first, she backed down.

After they announced who it was that they liked, the atmosphere shifted to fun-seeking. The girls had fun that night, happy to discover that they still had the possibility to love again.

Spring was over soon, and the summer heat drew in quickly. Sophia left the shed quickly, too hot to stand being in a place without air conditioning a second longer.

She ran to the Blue Bar and entered the air conditioning gratefully where Muffy was chatting with Griffin.

"Hi Sophia!" she greeted her, offering her a drink.

She accepted and drank it gratefully after Griffin mixed it up for her. Griffin quickly came up for an excuse to leave. He retreated into the backroom where he began to play his guitar.

Alone, Sophia and Muffy began to talk freely. "Anything with Rock yet?" she asked.

Muffy shook her head. "I don't know how to approach him, really…" she admitted.

Sophia accepted the answer and settled down; drinking with Muffy until evening when the regulars filed in, Rock and surprisingly Jack was with them.

"Hi Muffy!" Rock greeted her, winking at Sophia, "Three beers, please!"

Muffy smiled her trademark smile and nodded. "Of course!"

While Muffy fetched the beer Sophia talked with Rock and Jack about the weather, of all things.

Finally, Muffy returned with the drinks and put them on the counter for the boys to get. "Wanna get drunk fast tonight, Rock?" Muffy asked seductively.

Rock handed Jack his beer and shook his head. "Though this is my first of many, the third is for Kai! He just got here today, you know?"

Muffy leaned on the counter, no doubt showing off her cleavage. Jack noticed and flushed darkly; Rock however, ignored them and started chatting with Muffy… like a friend would if anything.

While she sipped her drink Sophia noticed that Muffy was disappointed with Rock for not catching on

Men…

"So," Sophia said, trying to make small talk with Jack, "This Kai wouldn't happen to be the guy who runs that shack by the beach, right?"

Before Jack could answer, someone else did. "As a matter of fact, he is," the stranger said, and he stepped out from behind Jack.

The man before her was definitely attractive. He had tanned skin, midnight hair that stuck out from under a purple bandanna and dark eyes that looked at Sophia thoughtfully.

Sophia blushed under the intense gaze she was under. "And you are…?"

"I'm Kai," he said, and Sophia suddenly felt very, very embarrassed about speaking about him while he'd been in the room, "Jack says that your old Takakura's niece from Sicily of all places. I went there once, nice place."

Sophia lost herself in those dark, deep eyes, thinking that maybe Kai would be the right guy to pursue…

_Can't commit… He's a wild card… _reverberated in her head, and she shook herself.

How could she do this?

She was going to just ask Kai out?

She was a respectable young lady and he was some traveler that turned up on the island every summer. How could she fall for someone the others had told her wouldn't commit when that was exactly Sophia needed.

She got up from the stool and excused herself, leaving a very bewildered Kai back in the noisy bar. "What just happened?" he asked Jack.

Jack shrugged. "She's friends with Popuri… maybe she heard about what happened between you two and just assumed."

Kai frowned and turned away from the doorway. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear," he muttered, "Not when at least haven't heard both sides of the story…"

Jack cocked his head at what his friend had said, but Kai quickly reverted to his carefree state, and they began talking again.

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Enjoy it? Hope so. Expect Kai to play a role? Hope not, I love getting you guys with plot twists! R seriously, it's what keeps me going! Check out my other fic; Where the Heart is after you finish with this chapter, will ya?


	7. Pretty Girls Eat Free

Here's some more! R&R!

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Chapter Six: Pretty Girls Eat Free

The next few weeks Sophia desperately tried to avoid Kai.

She couldn't go to the bar because he frequented the place with Rock and Jack who were good friends. She couldn't go to the beach until evening because Kai had set up his Snack Stand and was there all day. She couldn't hang out with Muffy that much because she was going after Rock who was usually at the beach.

The tan-skinned man had gotten to her, and Sophia knew that if she didn't stay away, she would probably fall for him.

The meetings every Saturday revealed no success on all fronts. The news depressed and discouraged the Sisterhood, but Muffy's drinks and Sophia's cooking always cheered them up and got them fighting again.

One Saturday night in mid-summer, Popuri invited Sophia to stay at the Inn with her since the night was hot and Sophia was still living in the small shed.

The small, hot, non-air-conditioned shed.

Sophia had instantly accepted, and Popuri announced that they would have a sleepover.

When they were in Popuri's room, the girls giggled as they watched movies Popuri had borrowed from Ruby.

After midnight, the girls settled to go to bed, but Sophia was being attacked by thoughts of Kai again and she couldn't sleep.

"Poppy…?" Sophia asked, hoping that Popuri would be asleep.

"Yeah?" she asked from somewhere in the darkness.

Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, Sophia spoke. "How was… Kai like?"

There was an uncomfortable silence in which Sophia expected for Popuri to scream at her or just not answer, but after a couple of minutes, she broke the silence.

"Kai was…" she began, voice sad with remembrance, "The nicest guy I had ever met. He… played with me and May and Stu, gave me free food at his shop… But… he just wasn't fun to be around… he was… nice and understanding, always there when you needed him. If he would've been able to commit… I think I'd be married to him now."

Sophia blinked, surprised for Popuri to suddenly stop acting childish and actually say something like an adult. "Thanks Poppy…" she whispered into the darkness before falling asleep.

Even after that night, Sophia wasn't sure she could stand dating Kai, so she continued avoiding him until that fateful day.

It had been a hot day and Muffy had suggested that she, Sophia, Nami and Celia head to the beach.

Sophia had accepted since she'd been told that Kai had taken the day off and that he, Jack and Rock were heading to Mineral Town in the afternoon after Jack finished work.

Although Celia had to help Vesta save the crops from the intense heat, Nami and Muffy showed up. They sunbathed and talked and even made a sand castle that they had to pretty much force Nami to help build.

Later, while the sun was setting, Nami and Muffy left Sophia alone on the beach, where she insisted on staying to watch the sunset.

The hues of orange and purple melded together beautifully, casting its reflection on the sea. Sophia watched, just a bit homesick because the orange light reminded her of the orange fields of Sicily.

Sniffling slightly, Sophia rose to leave, the sand tingling in between her toes…

And that's when she saw him…

Kai was leaning on the counter of the Snack Stand, face solemn as he also watched the sunset.

Without knowing it, Sophia had edged closer to him, and Kai looked at her in confusion. Sophia bit her lip at being held under this gaze, but Kai eventually nodded in acceptance, allowing her to join him.

As the sun finally disappeared over the horizon, Kai's voice, hesitant at first, filtered its way into Sophia's ears. "Do… do you think it's wrong to dislike your parents…?"

Sophia blinked at this question and looked at Kai. He was still looking at the now dark ocean. She hesitated before answering. "W-why do you ask?"

"My father wanted me to take over the family business; a real estate agency… my mom wanted me to become a lawyer… my grandparents wanted me to be a doctor… It looked like my entire family was pressuring me into becoming someone I never wanted to be!" Sophia flinched as Kai raised his voice, but felt a pang of sadness as she remembered what that felt like.

Kai took the silence as a 'yes', so he turned to leave. "Sorry to have bother-,"

"No," Sophia said, stopping Kai in his tracks, "It isn't wrong to hate one's parents…" she repeated, her own feeling of dislike for her parents and family bubbling up inside her heart.

A single tear ran down her cheek, and she was glad that she had her back turned to Kai so that he couldn't see her like that.

However, he did sense that she was sad, and he quickly apologized. "S-sorry…" he mumbled, "I didn't know that this was a… sensitive topic for you…"

"You didn't know…" Sophia replied softly, and Kai suddenly snapped his fingers, a grin on his face.

"I know something that cheers everyone up!" he claimed, going back into the little stand, "Snow cones!" Sophia blinked, unfamiliar with the treat, "You look like a…" Kai rubbed his chin as he looked at Sophia, "A grape person!"

Sophia, still confused with the 'snow in the cone', failed to recognize that Kai had guessed dead on that her favorite flavor of all time _was_ grape.

She watched as he shaved ice and put it into a paper cone. He pulled out a bottle from under the counter and sprinkled the violet liquid onto the ice, smiling as he did so. He handed it to her and she took it hesitantly, licking the ice a bit.

"You're not going to enjoy it like that!" Kai said, chuckling softly, "Bite into it!"

Sophia obeyed, and when the soothing cold ice went into her mouth she rolled her eyes heavenward in pleasure, the taste of sweet yet sour grapes filtering into her system, making her smile despite herself.

Kai watched as she ate the flavored shaved ice in amusement, toying with his bandanna as he did so. "Told you it'd make you smile!" he said.

When Sophia finished it, the smile had not left her face, and she looked at Kai gratefully, reaching into her pocket for her money. "Thanks for that, Kai!" Sophia said, happier than she'd been in days, "How much is it?"

Kai scratched the back of his head with a sly smile. "2000G…" he said seriously, making Sophia's jaw drop into the sand. At seeing her startled face, Kai started laughing, only further bewildering Sophia, "Free!" he exclaimed, and Sophia couldn't help sighing in relief, then gave the chef a look of resentment, "First time's always my treat… besides, pretty girls always eat free…"

The blood rushed to both their faces, and an uncomfortable silence hung in the air, both of the fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Err… Thanks for the… snow cone…" Sophia muttered, looking away from Kai.

"A-anytime…" he replied, twiddling his thumbs nervously, mentally slapping himself for being so blunt.

Sophia took her leave of the beach, and after a few minutes, Kai sighed and went back to the Inn, too down on himself to go to the bar and drink with Rock and Jack tonight.

When Sophia got into the shed she was still blushing darkly. She laid herself down on the bed Uncle Tak had gotten her from Van, sprawled on the bed on her back, mind fluttering to Kai's words.

He thought she was pretty?

No one had actually told her she was pretty before… especially not a boy, not to her face at least.

Kai had, and a part of her wondered if he'd actually meant it or he just said that to all the girls that he gave free snow cones to so that they would smile at him…

Conflicted, it took her awhile before she fell asleep, and when she finally did, she dreamt of the Sisterhood; all married and with kids while she waited at the beach all year for the small boat that would never come…

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There you go. R&R! Hoped you enjoyed it, peoples!


	8. Kai and Sophia?

My sincere apologies for taking so long in updating! My interenet was disconnected! Well, I'm back now, both with 'The Foreigner' and 'Where the Heart Is' updates! Keep your eyes peeled for new fics, as I'm already working on some listed on my profile!

From now on I'll adopt the reply to reviewers method, so depending on how that goes you may or may not see my responses to reviews here. If they're anonymous you _may _see something here. I'll start replying as soon as I get the 'Where the Heart is' update up.

Anyway, R&R, please! Enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter Seven: Kai and Sophia?

Sophia kept the events that happened that evening on the beach from everyone; even Muffy, who pressed her wildly about which boy she was going to go after. She'd kept the front that she hadn't decided yet, but the others were starting to see that she was acting strangely and Muffy noted that she was skipping out on hanging out with her in favor of taking strolls on the beach.

For a few days, Sophia avoided Kai again, but eventually she gave into the turmoil raging in her heart and decided to get to know him better… Just… get to know him.

For the next few days she'd visited him at the beach and had chatted with him; generally small talk, nothing special. He served her snow cones and spoke openly, if not teasingly with her.

Sophia wasn't accustomed on how to flirt or react when flirted with, so she wasn't entirely sure as to how many times Kai might have suggested something and she hadn't caught on. Surely Popuri had noticed the first time Kai had hit on her, but so far Sophia hadn't recognized any one of the advances she wasn't sure even existed.

Maybe Kai didn't like her naivety? Was he amused by it?

His face whenever she appeared on the beach told her otherwise, as it seemed to grow lighter when she joined him. Just his grin was enough to make Sophia keep on returning to the beach day after day, from noon to sunset.

But then Lilia; Popuri and Rick's mother, insisted that instead of fussing over her, they further their education on poultry so that they could one day take over the shop when Lilia retired.

And so it went that Popuri and Rick took up residence in the Inner Inn to study under Jack and Takakura while Lilia was helped out by Zack, who was actually seeing her now despite the fact Lilia had insisted her husband Rod would return one day.

According to Karen, that was gossip that Anna, Sasha and Manna came up with, so the romantic part of it probably wasn't true but Popuri had confirmed that Zack had been helping her mom more.

Popuri had been thrilled to be closer to Sophia at first (she was also closer to Marlin) but when she and Rick noticed that Kai was staying at the Inn too… well, things got ugly.

Popuri had to stop Rick from killing Kai, who was just passing down the hall when Rick pounced on him like a rabid dog. Long story short, Karen had to be called in to wrestle her former boyfriend and best friend into submission.

Later that same night Popuri ranted in the Blue Bar to Muffy and Sophia over some drinks. "I mean Rick just attacked him!" she exclaimed for the tenth time that night, "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Kai get hurt, but Rick actually tried to strangle him! I mean I don't want him to _die_!"

Karen, who had decided to stay the night after the unfortunate run-in with Rick, gulped down her beer and nodded. "Sorry I hurt him, Poppy…" Karen muttered.

Rick had to be taken back to Mineral Town to Tim's office when Karen had 'restrained him'. So far it had been determined that Rick had a broken arm and ankle…

"It's okay, Karen…" Popuri muttered angrily, "He needed that wake-up call anyway…"

It was a slow night and Muffy yawned in boredom, resting her head in her palm. "Are you really okay staying at the same place as Kai, Puri?"

Popuri shrugged, but you could see the worry in her eyes. "I dunno…"

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When Kai opened the door to his room he had not expected to see a fuming Popuri at his door.

She entered before he could speak and just stood there in silence, shooting daggers at him with her reddish eyes. "I need closure," she said coldly, and Kai seemed to slump at hearing her say that.

"Whatever you want, Popuri…" Kai muttered, sitting on his bead in resignation

"Are you seeing anyone?" Popuri asked.

"Not yet…" Kai replied.

Popuri put her hands on her hips and leaned forward menacingly towards Kai. "What do you mean 'not yet'?" she demanded, "Do you have someone in mind?"

"That's none of your business, Po."

"Like heck it isn't you stupid meanie!" Popuri snapped, "Now tell me!"

"Are you going to tell me who you're interested in?" Kai retorted.

Popuri blushed and looked away. She hated it when Kai was able to stop her dead in her tracks. It frustrated her to no end.

"No," Popuri muttered.

"Thought so," Kai said smugly.

Popuri made little fists the shook at her sides. She sat down on the bed opposite to Kai's and looked down into her lap. "Why couldn't you commit?" she asked weakly.

Kai waited a few seconds before answering. "Why didn't you accept my offer to go traveling with me?" Kai retorted quietly, "You know I can't stay in one place for too long, Po… I offered to take you with me and you said no."

"So?" Popuri whined, reliving the moment in which she saw Kai stowed the blue feather back in his vest, "If you weren't willing to stay with me that means you weren't really in love with me!"

Kai frowned. "You not traveling with me says the same about you, Popuri!"

Popuri recoiled as if struck, noticing that for the first time. Had she really hurt Kai when she refused to go traveling with him?

"My mom…" Popuri mumbled.

"She had Rick," Kai said, "You could've come with me and gone back every summer," he sighed, "Listen, let's not talk about this. I'm not getting back together with you and you aren't going to either."

"Y-yeah…" Popuri mumbled.

Kai got up and opened the door, Popuri walked over and stood out in the hallway, looking at the man she'd loved once open a time.

His frown turned to a grin. "I… I'll still be your friend, though, Popuri… If not now, someday…"

Popuri smiled back, her pink cotton candy hair shimmering in the lamplight. "Friends sounds nice…"

Kai smiled at her and closed the door, leaving the woman he'd loved once upon a time outside in the hallway.

Despite the sadness both felt at not realizing what the other wanted and not being able to save their relationship because of it, they were happier now that they had forgiven one another and were willing to become friends again.

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Popuri's presence in the Valley only further dissuaded Sophia from going after Kai. She spent her afternoons at the Goddess Pond; Muffy too occupied with chasing Rock to keep her company.

Popuri was always too busy with the chores Tak had given her with Jack's poultry to ever pay attention to her.

The girls from the Sisterhood were too busy talking about their ventures with the man they pursued to ever pay Sophia any mind.

Sophia was suddenly very alone… and she hated every second of it.

She went home earlier then usual that night. Jack was tending to his animals the last time for the day and waved at Sophia as she walked in to the shed. She waved back and gave him a fleeting smile, all the while wondering if Jack liked Celia as much as the timid brunette liked him...

The next day Sophia woke up and decided that it was best not to get out of bed this morning. Instead, she managed to lure Jack's pet dog Samson into the shed. She stroked the dog's fur, absently as she thought of things she wouldn't usually waste a second on.

Stuff like where the heck the place Po-Po Valley Murrey talked about? What kind of creature was Mukumuku really? Why didn't Sebastian tell Romana the way he felt about her? Why was Muffy man-crazy? What were the cataclysmic events that led the girls dump the boys they obviously had loved so much?

Sophia was torn out of her thoughts when she heard a few knocks at the door. Thinking it was her uncle, she opened it…

It was Kai, and he looked at Sophia in a bit of a shock.

Gasping slightly, Sophia almost slammed the door in Kai's face, leaving only a crack open so that she could hear his voice and avoid seeing her tangled hair, and her in a nightgown…

"Y-yes, Kai…?" Sophia stuttered in mortification, running her hands up and down her gown to smooth away the wrinkles so that she could appear a little more presentable, were that even possible.

Not quite used to having cute men knocking on her door, Sophia was more nervous than she sounded.

Kai spoke normally, as if he had just not seen her in a nightgown in the late afternoon. "Sophia, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Fireworks Festival tonight," Kai said casually, "See, it's at Mineral Beach this year, so if we want to go there we're going to have to get going soon…"

Sophia blinked; had Kai just asked her out on a… _date!?_

"A-are y-you a-asking m-me o-on a da-date…?" Sophia stammered, brain not processing exactly what he'd told her.

"You're not seeing anyone, are you?" Kai asked bluntly.

"N-no…" Sophia replied.

"Then yes, I am asking you to watch the fireworks with me; a date," he said.

Sophia fumbled for something to say. "W-well… It's going t-to take me awhile to g-get ready…"

This was it; if Kai couldn't wait for her then she'd turn him down. Her last chance to escape going out with him; the last attempt her brain was putting up to avoid this. If he said yes, her heart would take the wheel.

"I don't mind," Kai said rather cheerfully, "I'll wait for you out here, okay?"

"O-okay…" Sophia said, a part of her crying out in sorrow while the other whooped for joy.

With that Sophia closed the door completely and combed her hair vigorously, untangling the snares and knots. When her hair settled back into its usual straight form, she pulled on an olive sundress and pulled on a sunhat. Satisfied with her appearance, she exited the shed to find Kai leaning against the fence to where Jack's livestock were grazing.

"I'm ready," she announced, and when Kai turned around she could've sworn she saw him blush; but the glare of the summers sun that shone in her eyes might've played tricks on her.

And with that she and Kai headed for Mineral Town.

The other girls had already set-off, so Sophia and Kai were alone as they climbed the path that took them to their neighboring town.

Along the way she and Kai talked about wine, of all things. Since Sophia's family back in Sicily had owned a very prestigious vineyard, she was an expert on the subject having tasted wine all her life. Kai said he'd once worked at a vineyard in a town not too far from here when he was saving up money to open the Snack Shack back at Mineral Town, so he knew a little about the wine business, allowing an educated conversation on the subject.

When they arrived in Mineral Town, Kai gave her a quick tour. Sophia had only caught a glimpse of the place in passing, so Kai's tour actually shed some light on the place and its residents.

It was sunset when they made their way through Rose Square and to the beach. Everyone was there, people from the Valley and Town alike.

She recognized Muffy, Rock, Celia, Jack, Popuri, Karen and Rick instantly. A few feet away from Eli was a boy, no older than eight years old, with a bowl-shaped haircut playing with a girl of about the same age with midnight black hair.

Sitting on a bench was Lilia, a woman that looked a lot like Karen, for some reason, an older and more refined version of Mary, and a woman that seemed to be talking her head off, making the other ladies laugh occasionally.

Nami and Gray were sulking off in the shadows, each on opposite corners of the beach while Hugh, who had just arrived with Wally and Chris, ran to join the boy and girl, who greeted him with cries of joy.

Mayor Thomas was standing on the dock beside a huge, muscular man Sophia assumed to be Zack who she'd heard about from the Mineral Town girls' gossip, as he was always shooting glances towards Lilia, who was laughing heartily with the other women.

Sunset cast a beautiful shade of orange on the sea, and Kai led Sophia to a nice position by the water, taking in great gulps of salty air gratefully that tasted refreshing in after what had been a hot trip to the town.

"I'm going to go open the Snack Shack to get some snacks," Kai told her, "Want anything?"

"What do you suggest?" Sophia asked him, discarding her shoes and burying her bare feet in the sand that trickled between her toes soothingly.

"For an event such as this, I recommend a bucket of popcorn for two," he said with exaggerated curtsy, "It's a town favorite, you know?"

Laughing, Sophia nodded and waved him off dismissively. He gave her one last smile and set off towards a small, bluish building by the dock.

Further down the beach, Muffy's jaw had hit the floor as she watched Kai and Sophia come in together. When Sophia finally looked at her, it was all Muffy could do to smile and give her a thumbs-up. Sophia returned the gesture with a radiant smile, observing that Muffy and Rock were together… but not alone.

Jack, a shy Celia and a scowling Marlin had joined them; much to Muffy's apparent dismay. Celia gave her apologetic glances while Popuri edged closer, obviously going over there to get closer to Marlin.

Sophia had been watching Popuri out of the corner of her eye, but her bubbly friend had done nothing when she had seen Sophia and Kai arrive together. Her attentions were focused on Marlin, who was ignoring her.

Kai returned with a bucket of popcorn he plopped into the sand in between him and Sophia, and she tried the salty, buttery treat. Like all of Kai's cooking, it was excellent, as she expressed to him many times as they chatted in the waning light.

Kassey and Patrick took Zack's boat out to sea, filled with containers that everyone said were fireworks. About thirty minutes later, the now black sky exploded in a beautiful light, and everyone on the beach 'ooh'd' and 'ahh'd' when each one lit up the sky in great explosions of dazzling color.

Both Sophia and Kai had not noticed that after the first crack of the fireworks Sophia had grabbed Kai's hand tightly.

She didn't let go until the final one, in which the children cried out for more and the couples stared up at the smoky sky in reverent silence.

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During the fireworks, Karen had not been able to approach Grey, as he had been in a horrible mood and had not wanted to talk to anyone.

He'd told her that to her face, and Karen had to resist the urge of wrestling him to the ground and tickling him to death. He wasn't Rick; no one was.

Instead of sharing the night with a boy as she was accustomed to, Karen had sat down on a beach towel, watching Sophia in envy as she and Kai shared a tub of popcorn. _My favorite too,_ Karen thought, hoping someone would magically appear with popcorn for her.

"Karen?" a hesitant voice broke into her thoughts. She recognized it to be Rick's, and she scowled at her childhood friend.

"What?" she replied snappishly, twirling a strand of hair, something she only did when she was either nervous or getting pissed off.

Rick, who recognized this particular gesture vividly from his childhood, gulped and sat down beside Karen. She scooted away, cursing that his arm and ankle hadn't completely healed from when she'd wrestled him off Kai. If he had healed she'd at least be able to beat his face in.

"Be happy that you're still hurt," Karen said threateningly, "Because if you weren't I'd pound your four-eyed face into the look you get when you saw Popuri and Kai making out on the beach."

She heard Rick make a choking sound behind her, no doubt recalling the moment in question. Karen smiled evilly, pleased that she knew Rick's greatest piss-off. The great thing about it was that he'd told her about all the events between Kai and Popuri he'd witnessed, and all of them were fresh in her memory and ready to use.

"Karen I'm-," Rick started.

"Not interested," Karen interrupted him, hoping the fireworks would start soon so that his voice would be drowned out in the explosions.

Rick stayed silent for a few seconds. "Karen… Just listen, please…" Rick said, sounding defeated and exhausted at the same time.

Before Karen could reply, the sky lit up in brilliant red with an ear-popping explosion.

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Eli noticed that Rick had gone to Karen… Plans foiled, she hugged her knees and waited for the fireworks to start, hearing May and Stu's giggles as Hugh joined them in playing.

Her little brother was the only man in her life at the moment, Eli noticed, thinking of how depressing it was to say that. Still, she wasn't the only woman in Stu's life. He had May and grandma Ellen. Even her little brother was getting along with the opposite sex more than she was and he still thought most girls were gross!

Sighing, Eli watched as the sky light up, silencing the kids' bickering and instead replacing it with sounds of awe.

Tim never noticed that she liked him, but at least he'd been her companion… One day she'd just lashed out of him, and he'd looked at her blankly. Now Eli knew that the poor doctor probably didn't even know what she was talking about…

She felt guilty now, darn her! The girls would really think she was a sap, letting Tim off the hook so easily.

She watched the newest addition to the island sitting with Kai, no doubt extremely happy at the moment…

Eli was glad that she was having fun and getting guys already, but she'd gotten Kai _quick_. It had taken Popuri two years before she and Kai had watched the fireworks together… but Sophia had bagged Kai in less than a season! It was preposterous that she was that good in getting guys! She'd told them that back in Sicily she had never had a boyfriend…

Was Kai really that attracted to her?

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Muffy was stunned when she saw her best friend and Kai waltz into the beach together, laughing, eating popcorn… holding hands…

Goddess she had gotten a guy quick!

But more importantly it was _Kai _that she had gotten. Heartthrob Kai, never been tamed by a girl before Kai, broke Poppy's heart Kai…

Muffy was concerned… this would not end well for her friend… Kai would break her heart and leave the poor girl in shambles… alone and heartbroken… something Muffy knew to sometimes even by worse than death…

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"I had a nice time tonight," Sophia said later that night.

They were standing in front of her shed, past midnight… and her uncle staring at Kai from across the farm, murder in his eyes.

Kai did his best to ignore Takakura's 'death glare' and smiled at Sophia. "I had a good time too…"

What was she supposed to do now? Kiss him? Hug him? God she wished Muffy were here right now… she'd know what to do!

Instead, Kai just smiled at her, grabbed her hand, making Sophia shiver at the contact, and let go, waving at her with that goofy smile on his face, leaving Sophia bewildered by the experience, bathed by the moonlight… yet somehow so very satisfied…

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Ah, romance... how I love it...

There was nice Kai x Sophia stuff here; a little interaction between some of the girls and their past loves... Will they get them back? Huh? Huh? Suggestions are welcome!

R&R! I'll update day after next!


	9. Parting

Ah... parting is such sweet sorrow...

Hrm? Oh, don't mind me...

Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Keep doing that; I love them!

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Chapter Eight: Parting

For the next few days, Sophia felt strangely light. Not tipsy or anything like that… it felt _better. _It was like all the problems in the world had melted away and she was on top of it now, sometimes feeling as if she were floating.

Muffy and the others looked at her in bewilderment when she danced into the Blue Bar on a meeting night, offering apologies for being late and having forgotten to make pasta.

Popuri acted normal around her, and she'd actually smiled at her when she'd danced in that day.

Sophia had been scared that the hook-up would separate them as friends, but instead, Popuri had been warmer around her, inviting her to the Inn for lunch more often and taking walks with her to the Goddess Pond after Tak finished with her and Rick's training…

Rick.

Rick hated Kai despite who he was going out with, and after he returned to the Valley when his bones had finally healed, he made it his mission to 'save' Sophia from Kai. It was unsettling to have Rick burst into the beach when she and Kai were talking. He'd yell something about hitting on his sister's friend and then he and Kai would get into a fight that would usually result in Rick making a very ugly face and storming back into town.

At that point, their conversation ruined, Sophia and Kai would either sit together awkwardly or she would take her leave, saying bye to him until the next day…

Eventually Sophia told Popuri who snapped at Rick when she saw him next. "It's one thing to break me and Kai up to break Kai and Sophia up! She's not even your sister, you jerk! Leave them alone!"

Rick had slinked off somewhere, looking very depressed. For some reason, Sophia started to feel sorry for him from that day forward.

Kai had started acting weird the closer summer came to ending, and Sophia didn't know why. He had stopped grinning boyishly at her, stopped teasing her, and had even insisted that she eat more of his food.

This dampened her spirits… She missed the old Kai, and she felt as if he were preparing to break up with her. She dreaded that. She honestly did not know what it would be like to wake up every morning and not run down to the beach and see Kai. She knew it was unrealistic to call it love, but she was starting to grow… attached.

Finally, summer ended and Sophia ran over to the beach extra early for a reason she could not comprehend.

When she arrived, she found Kai sitting by his boat, a frown on his face.

He watched her come over, and Sophia could not comprehend what was behind those black eyes. Longing? Regret? Indecision? Whatever it was, Sophia did not like any of the three possible choices.

"What are you doing here so early?" Sophia asked with a forced smile. She could barely pull it off because her insides were tightening into a knot, making breathing a chore and staying on her feet especially hard.

Kai looked away and inched towards the boat, revealing a small bundle. Sophia blinked once or twice, not comprehending what that was or what he was trying to mean by it.

"I'm leaving, Soph…" he put it simply, and Sophia blinked again, not totally sure about what he'd said.

"I just thought you said you were leaving…" she said, the flicker of hope within her starting to disappear as his eyes met hers.

"I did…" he said. The hope died. Just like that. "I come only for the summer," Kai explained, "I leave for the rest of the year."

"Oh," Sophia said, and Kai gathered the bundle in his arms and threw it into the boat. After looking at Sophia for a little while longer, he pushed it into the water then climbed in himself.

They stared into each other's eyes as the boat pulled away, and Sophia begged for him to say something… _anything._

"Give your mail to Zack if you want to get in contact!" Kai yelled over the waves, "He'll know where I am!"

Sophia nodded, trying very hard not to cry as his boat pulled away further and further into the ocean. When he was almost out of sight, Sophia ran into the water.

When she was up to her knees in the cold water, she cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'll write! Just write back! I'll… I'll wait for you!" she found herself yelling.

She did not know if Kai heard her, but he waved one last time before he finally disappeared from sight. Sophia could not recall how much time it was that she spent there, just looking out at the vast ocean as if she were under some spell. When she heard the voices of Rock and Jack later that day, she left the beach as quickly as she could, startling them when she didn't even bother to say hello or even acknowledge them.

But Sophia wasn't thinking of them…

The weightlessness she had felt before then had suddenly turned into a crushing weight. She felt like she was drowning beneath a huge wave that crushed down upon her with all of nature's fury.

He was gone… and she was alone again…

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Sigh... That hurt. I really didn't want to do that but you guys know I had to, right?

Anyway, keeping in mind that this is a short chapter, I will update again today! The next chapter is LONG; yes, Harry Potter chapter material long. But there's always a bad side...

The bad side is I won't update 'til Monday... Aahh, I know; but even I need a break (and time to write!).

Keep in mind that the pairing is Sophia x Kai. This most certainly is not the end for them!

R&R!


	10. Time Gets Stuck in Quicksand While You

As promised, here!

Disclaimer: I do not own the song 'Only Hope'. I love it though... Squee!

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Chapter Nine: Time Gets Stuck in Quicksand While You're Waiting

Sophia's depression lasted for a while; two days to be exact... Eventually Muffy had to kick her into shape by breaking into the shed and insisting she get out of the house.

She was coerced into doing so, and Popuri was sympathetic towards her when she saw her face. Sophia knew that her friend knew exactly what she was feeling; she had loved Kai, once upon a time…

"Come on, Sophia!" Muffy was saying in an annoying whiney voice she knew her friend hated, "We can really use you for the Music Festival! Carter says that Karen needs a backup singer so the songs can _really _sound good!"

"Yeah!" Popuri said, wide red eyes pleading with her, "With you there then we can really have a blast! Please…?"

Sophia pushed the drink Muffy had offered her away, a scowl on her face. "What makes you think I can sing?"

Popuri and Muffy exchanged worried glances. "You're _always _singing, Sophia…" Muffy pointed out, "When you're cooking especially!" She had a point. Sophia always seemed to either be singing a tune or at least humming. Still, that didn't mean she was good enough to be on stage…

"You have a really nice voice!" Popuri complimented her, "Maybe as good as Karen's!"

Sophia snorted and rolled her eyes. She highly doubted that. While Karen's cooking was like shoving a time bomb down your throat, she had the most angelic voice Sophia had ever heard. The girl could sing! Her voice rivaled a lot of the big city famous singers' voices, but the pity was that Karen only used it when the Music Festival came along. Instead, she focused her energies in cooking… much to the dismay of the entire populace. When Karen cooks, no one is safe…

She eventually caved in when Popuri started crying like a little girl and Muffy threatened to never serve her alcohol again. Seeing as how she really had no choice in the matter, she agreed rather grudgingly.

"Perfect!" Popuri exclaimed, clapping her hand excitedly, face no longer red or puffy, "Mary and Lumina play piano, Ann and Eli play flutes, Karen and you'll be singing, and I'm going to be playing the violin!"

Sophia nodded, not giving much thought, until, of course, it was a few minutes before show time and she was in the church's backroom with the other girls, fidgeting nervously.

She felt a touch at her shoulder and saw Mary, looking at her encouragingly through her glasses. "You'll do great,"

Karen, who was drinking water, swallowed it hurriedly and got close to her backup singer. "Just follow my lead and you'll do great!" she said with a smile, "We're doing a lot of pieces this year, so Carter is letting us use the page with the lyrics on it! Just read them and sing your heart out!"

Sophia was still nervous, but the girls weren't. They had been playing their instruments on this day since they had reached womanhood, so they had their part down already. It was Sophia's first time singing in front of a crowd and the butterflies in her stomach were making her want to throw up.

She definitely wasn't ready.

Carter poked his head into the room, the eternal peaceful look on his face somehow disrupted and replaced with slight agitation. "You're on, girls! May the Goddess be with you!"

Karen took Sophia's hand and led her out onto the altar, where they stood in front of the others. Mary and Lumina took their positions on the piano, Eli and Ann settled on wither side of the piano, flutes already touching their lips and Popuri was off to the right, already in position with her violin, looking uncharacteristically at peace with her eyes closed, bow drawn back.

All at once, the girls started playing, the piano starting out first in a beautiful melody, combining both Lumina's and Mary's distinct parts to create it, then Popuri joined in, the violin sad and slow as she drew her bow back and forth across the string, and then Eli and Ann started with their whimsical flutes, light and hopeful. The distinct voices of each instrument melded into one, and it was as if one person was playing all of them at once.

It was so… beautiful…

Then, Sophia felt herself begin to hum loudly in tune with the music, her voice dominant among the instruments…

And finally, the star opened her mouth, and the room seemed to mellow as her voice rang out through the church.

_"There's a song that's inside of my soul," _Karen sang, voice hopeful and naïve, sounding like both a whisper and a cry that needed to be heard, _"It's the one I've tried to write over and over again… I'm awake in the infinite cold… but you sing to me over and over again…" _Karen's voice was backed by Sophia's, and the beauty could not be questioned, _"So I lay my head back down, and I lift, my hands and pray to be only yours, I pray to be only yours I pray… I know now, you're my only hope," _Karen and Sophia stopped singing, allowing the instruments to speak. So many emotions were transferred… the voice of the piano; hoping for love, the voice of the violin; it's sadness of having to ask, and the flutes; voice staying passive, backing the piano in it's hope.

Karen resumed singing again, voice thoughtful now. _"Sing to me the song of the stars, of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again. When it feels like my dreams are so far… Sing to my all the plans that you have for me over again. So I lay my head back down, and I lift my hands and pray to be only yours, I pray to be only yours I pray to be only yours… I know now, you're my only hope," _the duo's voices melded, Karen's the hope and Sophia's the longing, melding together, one woman's cry, _"I give you my destiny… I'm giving you all of me, I want your symphony, singing in all that I am," _Karen and Sophia's voices rose, Karen's still dominant, its beauty astounding, the trust it was putting in its hope real, _"At the top of my lungs, I'm giving it back!" _Karen smiled, and her voice was more pure than ever,_ "So I lay my head back down and I lift my hands and pray, to be only yours, I pray to be only yours, I pray to be only yours, I know now, you're my Only Hope…"_ the voices faded, the instruments quieting, all was heard was the simple melody of the piano and Sophia's humming as Karen put her hands to her heart and stayed silent.

Sophia's voice and the piano stopped at the same time, and the crowd stayed silent as Sophia fell into the same position as Karen, the song finally ending… The moment was so ethereal, no one really wanted it to end, especially Karen and Sophia, who had sung the words and meant them with all their hearts.

And then the church exploded into applause, and both Karen and Sophia opened their eyes, looking at the faces of the townspeople.

Sasha, Manna, Lilia and Ana had broken into tears, dabbing at their eyes with handkerchiefs, staring at their daughters with pride. The men tried to look impassive, settling for small grins and wild applause. Gustafa was nodding, the biggest smile Sophia had ever seen on his face there at that moment. Griffin looked touched, the old musician's eyes closed in a big grin.

Muffy had stood up and was applauding, calling everyone's names, Flora and Celia doing the same, tears in some of their eyes too.

But the most amazing thing that had happened as if by magic was those of four men, looking at the girls… no, _women_ that had just sung the most beautiful thing they'd ever heard. Gray was staring straight at Mary, jaw slack, Rick at Karen, amazed, Tim was blinking furiously, trying to tear his eyes away from Eli and Cliff sunk into his chair at seeing Ann's peaceful and beautiful face looking at someone that wasn't him.

The girls did not know it at the time, but it was the moment that the men had fallen in love with them…

Stu and May ran out onto the altar, May running for Popuri and Stu for Eli. Popuri hugged her, surprised at the little girl's affection. Eli laughed heartily when her little brother jumped on her lap, embracing her.

Jeff and Sasha hurried over to Karen, _both _of them crying, Lilia to Popuri, Anna and Basil to Mary, Anna wiping away her tears, Basil had a proud look on his face. Lumina was met by Sebastian, who congratulated her with a fatherly smile and Ann was met by Doug, who was saying how much she made him proud. Galen and Nina smiled at each other and embraced, probably knowing each other better than the other knew themselves.

It seems that everyone that had just listened to the song had gotten the urge to hold someone they loved close to them. Even Nami had scurried off to Ruby, who waited for her with open arms. Muffy had tearfully embraced Griffin like a daughter might do, even Gray and Saibara shook hands. Rick embraced his mother and Popuri, Cliff and Carter hugged, Barley found his way to May and hugged her… Celia hugged Vesta and was rewarded with a crushing one in return, Darryl approached Flora and she kind of grinned at him, making him jump for joy…

The church was now a place of love…

Sophia had… no one…

"You were excellent," a gruff voice said, and Sophia found herself looking at her uncle, who was looking down at her proudly, "Just like my mother…"

Sophia hugged her uncle, glad to have someone to share the moment with… Jack came over and congratulated her after hugging her himself, and Sophia smiled to herself.

She did have someone… Her uncle, her friends… and she would wait for him… she would wait at that beach for him and meet him with open arms. Love? Maybe. All that was left to do was find out…

After the Music Festival the entire populace was experiencing the same feeling Sophia had when she and Kai had returned from the Fireworks Festival. Everyday was argument-free, filled with shows of affection and love.

The mood wasn't ruined when Karen 'accidentally' slipped a poisonous mushroom into the pot at the Harvest Festival, although everyone was sick to their stomachs...

But of course, all good things must come to an end…

It happened when autumn was in its twilight and the weather started to cool. Nina fell ill one day, and the whole town gathered in Nina and Galen's house to find the old woman had passed, leaving Galen crying at her bedside, shedding tears from tear ducts that had long dried out.

He was beyond comforting; he even ignored Jack when the farmer tried to console him…

Sophia felt terrible for him… He's been left all alone without his love, left to live the remainder of his years without a familiar face beside him, Nina's comforting smile, her embrace… Sophia wanted to pass on by her husband's side at the same time. No matter how much like a corny romance novel of Mary's it sounded like, she wanted that comfort badly.

The funeral was held on the small patch of land besides Vesta's Farm. Everyone gathered, even Ellen had insisted on being carried over because Galen was an old friend and they now shared the loss of their partner.

It rained that day; poured was more like it. Carter read the sermon, paying his respects to the beloved woman that was everyone's grandmother. All through the funeral May stayed close to Barley and Stu and Eli to Ellen, holding them close. Romana wouldn't have Lumina do that, but she did it anyway, crying into her black dress like a child while Romana stroked her hair, singing a lullaby to her.

The possibility of losing one of the elderly was suddenly very real, and the whole island felt and feared it. Tim cursed that he had not been able to get there in time to help, and for the first time in a while Eli comforted him by telling him he was only human and could not have possibly been at two places at once. Tim's pain lessened at this, and Eli found herself squeezing his hand comfortingly.

After the funeral, Thomas held a meeting to appoint a new doctor for the Valley since Tim could not be in two places at once. After much thought, Tim called on his old mentor Hardy to come live in the town.

A few days later the man arrived, and most were shocked by what they saw. One side of his face was that of a machine… in fact, it seemed that he belonged as Darryl's evil assistant, not one who would save lives.

Still, he was accepted into their lives. Galen moved by Nina's gravesite and Hardy took Galen's old home, making it his clinic.

No children knocked on doors for the Pumpkin Festival; it was too soon after Nina's passing.

When the auburn leaves finally fell of the branches, winter began and it snowed often, making the town's citizens bundle up a lot and sit by their fireplaces for warmth.

Sophia spent the sad days at the Blue Bar or the Inner Inn, chatting with Muffy or Popuri. The town's dull appearance matched its sentiments as everyone still mourned Nina.

The mood lightened when it came time for the Winter Thanksgiving Festival; or when the girls gave boys they liked chocolate. "When you like him give him plain old chocolate, if you like him a lot give him cookies, and if you absolutely _love _him gave him cake!" Muffy explained the day before, a smile on her face as she baked her own cookies; shortbread; Rock's favorite.

The mood the girls were in reminded Sophia of Kai, who she had not written to since he had left. Feeling guilty now, Sophia made use of Jack's kitchen to make a batch of cookies that she scurried off to Mineral Town with. She had Jeff wrap them and then delivered them to Zack, attaching a note to the box.

'_Kai,_

_Happy Winter Thanksgiving! Hope you're well and having fun wherever you are. Waiting for you… _

_Yours truly,_

_Sophia'_

Zack smiled at her when she gave it to him and shook his head. "That sly dog…" he mumbled as he put it in his pack.

The rest of winter went by slowly, almost at a snail's pace. Christmas was spent at the Inn where the townspeople met and exchanged gifts.

Takakura had given her a new sundress, Jack a barrette that matched it, Muffy gave her a hug and a music box, Popuri and Rick gave her a shared gift of a pair of earrings and Karen a tape of their performance at the Music Festival along with a record player.

She'd bought gifts for the others, and they had all appreciated the gesture.

On New Year's Eve the populace gathered at Romana's Villa where a semi-formal party was being hosted. Much to the older woman's dismay, the younger generation did not come in pairs, instead in singles or in groups of friends. Sophia showed Romana and Sebastian how to make her 'Special Lasagna' and they were so impressed they offered her a job cooking for them at the Villa which included the spare room!

Too much of an opportunity to pass up, Sophia accepted immediately, much to the residents of the Villa's satisfaction. The rest of the party was spent dancing or drinking or gossiping in little groups; the hot topic being Jack's acceptance to being asked to dance with Celia.

At midnight they popped open bottles champagne and drank happily in honor of the New Year, Lumina playing the piano while Gustafa and Griffin joining in with their guitars. Sophia joined in and they began singing songs from 'Jingle Bells' to 'Moi-Moi', the latter being one of Po-Po Valley's traditional New Year's songs.

Needless to say the next morning most of the populace awoke with major headaches and sensitivity to light, but the fun they had last night was worth it; as the last shadows of Nina's death were chased away by the festivities

The promise of the New Year made Sophia much happier than she'd been since Kai left. Now living in the Villa Sophia cooked it's inhabitants lunch and dinner, learning new dishes from Sebastian. Plus it was only a little while longer until summer started again…

She and Lumina became friends, often staying in each other's rooms at night talking about boys and such. Muffy and Popuri visited often, cheering up Lumina and prompting singing and piano playing that lasted until Romana threatened to have the piano destroyed.

The Sisterhood continued meeting, bearing reports that the boys they had been trying to avoid where now going after them. This gave the girls their taste of revenge, but deep down they all knew that they would not be able to resist the men they still loved for much longer… It was unspoken and at times denied, but they all knew it to be true.

One day, mid-spring, Lumina and Muffy told Sophia that that day was the Spring Thanksgiving Festival. "It's the opposite of winter!" Muffy said with a smile, "Boys give us cookies if they like us!"

The next morning Muffy awoke to find cookies on her bedside from Rock, Lumina to find a plate left unclaimed by anyone, Celia to find some from Jack and Flora to find some from Darryl which she chucked into the river at her first opportunity. Nami was seen eating some unidentified cookies and Romana had been heard laughing hysterically when Sebastian appeared in her room with a freshly baked plate.

Sophia knew that she would be left out and was actually fine with it. She'd accepted that Kai wouldn't be able to send her any cookies.

While making dinner a knock came at the door. Sebastian answered it and seemed to have a conversation with whoever the visitor was, then closed the door and came into the kitchen, smiling from ear to ear.

"What is it Sebastian?" Sophia asked as she stirred her thick sauce, mixing the added ingredients in well.

"This arrived for you, Miss Sophia?" Sebastian said.

Sebastian revealed a package, wrapped in a red ribbon. Blinking Sophia looked at it rather suspiciously; half expecting it to be one of Romana's many tricks… The old lady was actually a trickster, if you could believe it! Sophia first learned of her 'hobby' when the spaghetti she was making for dinner one night ended up tasting like one of Karen's creations after a bathroom break. Everyone had eaten it except Romana, who laughed at their 'misfortune' and quickly hurried off to bed. Since that particular night, Sophia had been careful around the old woman, taking care not to fall for anything…

"Me?" Sophia repeated, "Must be one of my many admirers…" she added sarcastically in an effort to hide the curiosity from the butler.

She took the package in hesitant hands, and Sebastian gave her one last smile and left her alone in the kitchen… her and the package.

When she finally mustered the courage to cut the ribbon off and lift the top off, she was met with a small container resting in red tissue paper; a folded paper taped to the lid.

Opening it, heart beating faster and faster until she thought it would burst, the smell of the sauce was overpowered by the pleasant, homely smell of cookies.

Could it be?

She opened the note in trembling fingers, heart beating faster now than ever, palms sweaty.

Her eyes poured over the familiar handwriting, reading and rereading it again and again, mind too stunned to believe what it was that she was reading.

_'Soph,_

_Thanks for the cookies! How'd you know that I liked ginger snaps?_

_Although I'd much rather be sending you a grape snow cone, I was forced to go traditional and send you some plain chocolate chunk cookies when I remembered the snow cone would melt! Guess you'll have to wait like everyone else… wouldn't it be better to have _me _make it for you right in front of you anyway?_

_I'll see you in just a few weeks… been thinking about you too._

_Kai'_

"Oh my God…" Sophia said dumbly, putting the letter down on the table, "He… he… remembered…"

He cared, he took the time to return the gesture and send her a letter and some cookies!

The panic she had felt moments earlier was shadowed by the overwhelming feeling of something much like relief flooded over her; and something that she thought she'd never ever feel…

It felt a lot like love.

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That beautiful song that Karen and Sophia sang was 'Only Hope' by Mandy Moore. My favorite song eva... Anyway, you might remember the song from Nicholas Spark's 'A Walk to Remember' (which I don't own :). Sniff... sad movie...

Hope you liked the chapter... Next one is the one you've all been waiting for folks... Kai returns! Along with some other romance along the way with other girls...

R&R! Seriously, R&R...

I love reviews!


	11. Just Another Manic Monday

FINALLY! I'VE UPDATED!!!!

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Chapter Ten: Just Another Manic Monday

"Mondays suck…" Lumina sighed as she ate some of her scrambled eggs.

Romana sipped some tea and nodded her agreement. Sebastian, who was serving the freshly-toasted slices of bread, nodded as well.

Over their grumbles of exhaustion, Sophia's cheerful humming could be heard as she handed the bacon over to Sebastian, who in turn served it to the two seated ladies.

"What's she so happy about?" Romana whispered.

Lumina leant in closer to her grandmother. "Kai comes back tonight, grandma…" she replied.

"It's just another Manic Monday," Sophia murmured, "Don't wish it was Sunday, 'cause Kai comes home today, and it's going to be a fun day."

Romana stuck a finger in her mouth is disgust; no one was that perky on Monday morning, and when people were, it just pissed off the normal people who were annoyed at having to wake up early.

"Miss Romana…" Sebastian scolded her, handing her a fork.

"Boo," Romana murmured in annoyance, "You never let me have any fun… fun-sucker…"

Lumina drank some orange juice, rolling her eyes heavenward. "Well _someone _needs to keep you in check, grandma…"

Lucky for everyone present, Romana did not hear her granddaughter's comment.

Sophia danced over to the table and plopped down a basketful of croissants. She picked one up and danced out of the room. "I'll be back after dinner," she sang, thankful to Romana for giving her the day off.

Sophia proceeded to dance out the Villa's front door, twirling in tune with the song that played over and over in her head.

She felt so weightless; as if nothing in the world could bring her down. Songs about love and happiness flooded into her mind, and she sang them out in a joyous voice.

She loved her life; loved the world.

She'd never felt better.

Dancing into the Blue Bar, she was met by a half-asleep Muffy who was fluffing her golden mane absently.

"Hi-hi Muffy!" Sophia sang, plopping herself down on a barstool, "How are you doing on this wonderful morning?"

"I'm about to get my period, I only got five hours of sleep last night, and I'm pissed as hell," Muffy said in a monotone, "You?"

"It's delightful you feel that way," Sophia sang, "I'm great… _Perfect,_ really."

Muffy sighed and retreated into the back. A few moments later she returned with a hand painted banner with the words 'WELCOME BACK KAI!' painted artfully on it with the nicest shade of violet.

Sophia smiled and helped Muffy hang it up over the counter. "Say thanks to Nami for me," Sophia said when they were satisfied with it's position.

"Already did," Muffy said irritably, "She said not to get used to it."

Sophia giggled and glided out of the Blue Bar, the wind caressing her gently, the Spring/Summer sun beating down on her, warming her.

Yup, she definitely loved the world.

She danced into the Inner Inn next, and after saying hi to Tim she glided upstairs and knocked on one of the doors. _One, two three… four, five six……… seven eight nine ten!_

After ten knocks a muffled groan came from inside and the door opened, revealing Rock in his trademark pink pajamas. Sophia laughed every time she saw him like this, but Rock was too tired to care.

"Do you know what time it is?" Rock asked her, usually energetic eyes droopy and half-closed with exhaustion.

"Yes," Sophia sang, making Rock cringe, "It's ten thirty on a beautiful Monday morning on the day your best friend comes back! You promised to help prepare for the party, remember?"

Rock grunted and trudged towards his closet, after which Sophia gave him some privacy and danced down the stairs; two at a time. She almost tripped and had a painful fall, but that didn't faze her, as she just kept on dancing; oblivious to Tim's cries of 'Be careful' and 'Are you okay?'

Yes, love was a wonderful thing…

Sophia had started calling it love after a screaming fit in her room. After getting the cookies she ran up the stairs and just screamed into her pillow; letting go of all the joy, loneliness, resentment; she just let all her feelings, even those that didn't have anything to do with Kai, out… and when she was done, her mind was so clear, and behind where all the doubt had been, there was the answer, and she'd screamed that into the pillow too.

She was, to put it simply, in love with Kai.

And she had never felt any happier.

Sure, every now and then she'd just lie in bed and wonder if Kai could ever love her back, if he would come back, if he really meant what he'd said. But soon, all her troubles would be simply washed away by the overwhelming joy she'd been feeling since she made that next morning that only seemed to double with each day that passed.

She couldn't stop thinking about him; whenever she'd be thinking of something, she'd somehow start thinking about Kai.

It was maddening… and yet so… wonderful.

And she loved him even more for making her feel so happy.

And that was why she was throwing him a party.

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Urk... Too much... fluff... too short...

Yeah, I know. On a later chapter, you'll see why I'm using so much fluff... the drama will begin soon.

R&R!


	12. Summer Promises

WHOO-HOO! I'M BACK!!! YAY! YAY! YAY!

Hello, peoples, its me, Kuruk, back from hiatus!

Anyway, here's the LONG overdue update of The Foreigner!

For details of the arrangement I'm making as of updating stories, please consult my profile as I'll tell when I'll update, what I plan to do with my other stories and such...

But before I start... I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Thanks for standing by me! Your reviews for the 'Author's Notice' chapter made me sad that I couldn't write for a while but it also made me realize one very important thing: I'm very happy when I write; and its because of you guys that this is possible!

Anyway, without further ado (drum roll...) please enjoy chapter eleven of this story!

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Chapter Eleven: Summer Promises 

What made life?

What decided if your life crashed and burned or soared into the heavens unhindered?

Sophia had always occupied herself with these thoughts.

Her childhood had been a happy one; filled with love and nurturing… Yet she had always been asked… no, _demanded _to repay this kindness… even though the ones giving it to her was her family… the people that were supposed to give it to her unconditionally.

And yet…

She had failed to do what they asked of her.

In return, they exiled her… to a small town named Forget-Me-Not-Valley, where she met extraordinary people.

Sophia had always thought to get love, you needed to give something. She had believed that there was always a prerequisite to each kiss, caress, sweet word…

And then she met her uncle… and Muffy… and the Sisterhood… and finally Kai…

And they taught her that love wasn't like that; that the love her parents had shown her wasn't love at all; just a twisted way to manipulate others with the promise of someone to stand by you.

And in return all she needed to give them the same they gave her, and they always stood be her.

Sophia was happy… so much happier than she'd ever been in her life…

And yet… things fall apart.

Things did not begin to fall apart until later that summer, after many dates and kisses and 'I love yous' they shared; she and Kai, things began to fall apart; but Sophia did not notice.

Though she did not know it, it began to shatter one night; on the day before Kai left…

Sophia looked up solemnly at the stars, knowing that the next day would bring nothing but pain for her. The process she'd gone through last year would repeat itself; and it would be harder this time; because Sophia had fallen in love with Kai and he with her.

Leaving each other seemed to be suicide. They could not leave each other for mere seconds; indeed, Kai waited for her in front of the Villa and they went to the Snack Stand together where they laughed and served the villagers.

They spent the day until sunset like that, then she and Kai would go to the Blue Bar and order a drink or two and talk; just talk, spill their guts, reveal things that they had never revealed to anyone.

And then Kai would walk her back to the Villa, kiss her goodnight and return to the Inn.

And they weren't apart; they visited each other in their dreams, and once they awoke Kai would run off to the Villa and wait for her, and Sophia would rush to the balcony to take a look at him before she made breakfast…

And he'd smile, and she'd smile… and it was that smile that made them go on…

The thought of not seeing that smile for another year filled her with sadness; like acid coiling in her belly it would not stop; only increase with each day that brought her closer to their eventual parting.

She and Kai had been supposed to meet an hour earlier, and Sophia was beginning to get concerned for him…

Finally, an hour and a half late, Kai appeared, flustered and out of breath.

Sophia crossed her arms in mock annoyance. "You're late, mister," she informed him, "Where were you?"

Kai said nothing and sat down beside her. He looked nervous… very nervous. His bandanna was off, which was a miracle in itself. Kai's midnight hair seemed to radiate a glow in the pale moonlight, Sophia noted, something she'd never noticed.

"Sorry," Kai said, scratching the back of his head, "I… got tied up…"

Sophia sighed and leaned into Kai, a smile on her delicate face. "That's fine…"

They stayed like that for about a half hour that seemed more like a minute to them. Time passed quickly for them and they grasped at the sands of time desperately for more time together.

Yet the future was always in motion…

Kai finally spoke when all that could be heard were the waves tearing at the beach; a sound that calmed them both, their hearts slowing to a snail's pace.

"Sophie," he said, Sophia mumbled something in response, "I… wanted to tell you something…"

Sophia straightened and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "So do I Kai."

"You first…" Kai beat her to it.

Sophia sighed. "Kai… this season with you has been… wonderful. I… can't imagine not waking up and seeing you anymore-,"

"Sophie-,"

"Let me finish," Sophia said snappishly, making Kai close his mouth, "Thank you… Now… I… let me get to the point!" she exclaimed in frustration, "I… I really want to know that you're coming back… I want letters everyday, phone calls at least once a month… I want to know that you're still out there…"

Kai looked at her, a strange twinkle in his eye. "Sophia… I feel the same way… but I think I have the ultimate insurance policy that I _will _come back…"

Sophia cocked her head to one side; the sea breeze whipped her hair all around her gently. Kai smiled and reached into his vest pocket. Sophia's heart fluttered…

Kai laid a beautiful, glistening blue feather onto the sand, then as Sophia gasped, he pulled out a beautiful diamond ring the likes of which Sophia had never seen.

"O-oh… Goddess…" Sophia murmured, her brain struggling to register the implications of this gesture.

Kai chuckled and scratched the back of his head, more nervously than anything else. "I didn't know if you wanted to go all out villager or traditional," he explained, gesturing towards the ring, "So… err… I guess this is how you do this…?" Kai bent down on one knee, Sophia gasped again, "Sophia; when I met you I thought you were a beautiful woman. When I spoke with you I found out that you were an intelligent, caring, and loving woman… I… I, like you, haven't been happier since I met you… and, I think that two people like us should… stay together, don't ya think?" Sophia did not respond, Kai swallowed nervously, "So… Miss Sophia, will you marry me?"

Sophia immediately nodded, tears bursting out of her eyes. "Y-yes!" she exclaimed and tackled him, hugging him, trying to show him how much she meant the word _yes_, "Of course I'll marry you!"

Kai's heart stopped skipping beats and settled to a rabbit's pace. He slipped the ring on to her finger and stuck the beautiful feather into her hair. She kissed him underneath the midnight sky alive with the celestial bodies of light that shone down upon them their infinite blessings.

The next day, Sophia watched Kai's boat separate itself from the beach. This time, Kai waved at her until he was out of sight. This time, Sophia cried and waved back praying for a safe trip and that he return soon and smile at her like he did every morning.

Kai was gone again, but the promise he'd made her only validated what she felt; one day, when the Sisterhood married and had children, she, Sophia, would embrace the man of her dreams upon the sandy shore at which they'd first spoken.

She would not be alone; she would have him.

And in the end; that was all that mattered; wasn't it?

And yet… the first piece of her life shattered at that moment, though she knew it not…

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Okay... the fluff ends here. The ominous cliffie said that things would fall apart.. not only for her; but also for some of the villagers.

Though the story remains Sophia-centric, the story will FINALLY begin to start with the Sisterhood, some of teh villagers and their problems. Its time to see if those pairings will hold or not, so keep your eyes glued to your screen peoples... beacuse not only will romance brew for some... but like Sophia, things will begin to fall apart...

So, like I have said on my profile page (which you should visit!) I will update next Tuesday, then after that every Monday. WtHI is fans will get their wish when TF is finished; OLaF will resume after 'Objections to Love' a nice fic, in my opinion; my masterpiece...

So... love ya guys! Review and make my day! Review! Review! Review! Seriously...

Bye!!!

Kuruk : D


	13. Autumn Romances and Fallacies

Hi-hi peeps!

Its Kuruk! Welcoming ya to the second update of my great return! YAY!

A-hem... all kidding aside, know that I'm VERY happy with this chapter. I think its one of the best yet... Sorry in advance... you'll see...

Without further ado, please, dig-in to the latest installment of the Foreigner!

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Chapter Twelve: Autumn Romances and Fallacies

The weather was surprisingly hot for autumn. The seasons shifted quickly in Mineral Town and Forget-Me-Not-Valley. One day the summer heat could be pounding down on you and the next a cool autumn breeze could be blowing into you, cooling your skin.

Mary had always found this very interesting. Her father had too, and that's why he'd stayed in Mineral Town for so long; trying to discover just why the climate changed so much and how the flora and fauna were affected.

Sighing profoundly, Mary made her way up Mother's Hill at a snail's pace, looking over every single detail. Each time she did, adjectives jumped to her minds; dozens of them.

_The autumn sun was deceptively hot as it heated her cheeks in a crimson flush almost as red as the fallen leaves. She made her way past the creek that would soon freeze over, the reds and oranges fading into white from whence it came._

Mary could no more stop the flow of these words than she could stop breathing; for it was part of her very essence. After all, she was a writer; and writer's were meant to be the minstrels of the pen, as a romance novelist had so beautifully stated in a novel Mary had read not too long ago…

She blanked out when she reached the top of the mountain, allowing the fierce winds to whip at her from all angles, its might calming her as she gave herself up to it, swayed in tune with it…

Mary did this often; allowed nature to take its course with her. At times she would jump into the river than ran down the old farm and let the water carry her away and other times she would simply sit in the small field in the back of the church and allow the autumn leaves to cascade down on her; the earth's creatures to walk across her.

Why she did this was always a mystery to her, but during the time away from Gray, she'd noticed it was her escape from the monotony of the library, of the villagers and of life.

Nature always had something planned for you. The will of nature; as Mary had affirmed after reading a research paper by a researcher that visited Mineral Town once long ago, was said to be the immortal being of light and good; the Harvest Goddess.

It had always intrigued Mary… the Harvest Goddess; what she was and how she lived for so many years without company… without love… Sometimes Mary would lock herself away in her library and just pour herself over the tomes she'd read countless times, looking at the picture of the Harvest Goddess…

Surely if a _goddess _had no need for a man, mortals did.

Mary had come to this conclusion long ago, her heart wrung with grief and sadness… it had been the day after Gray had left her…

Even after joining the Sisterhood, Mary still wondered what it was that her purpose on this world was… For a time she had been content with telling herself that it was to love Gray; nothing more…

Now… without Gray in her life… she wasn't so sure about why she was here; why she was alive.

Little did Mary know that nature indeed have plans for her; that the Harvest Goddess was smiling down upon her that day, and while she felt the wind whipping around her on that autumn afternoon, her plan was already in motion.

Yelping, Mary was knocked down by a particularly violent gust of wind. The last thing she remembered before she hit the ground was thinking if this had been her purpose; to die of Mother's Hill…

Mary awoke to find a shadowed figure standing over her, a concerned look in his dark, usually fronted eyes. "Are you alright, Mary?" the figure asked her concernedly.

"G-Gray…?" Mary questioned, reaching out to touch her savior's face. A hand, delicate and yet… powerful grabbed her… she'd read once that was exactly how the hand's of a surgeon felt.

"You mustn't move," the man told her sternly, "You fell and hit your head; you have a minor concussion. Other than that you're fine… when you're ready to move I should get you home…"

Mary finally came back into full awareness, and it only took her a mere second to realize who exactly it was that had saved her.

"Oh my!" Mary exclaimed, bolting upright, causing her head to collide with the man's; he cried out as did Mary, they both rubbed their heads, the man with a frown on his face, Mary with a very apologetic, very nervous look on her face, "I'm _s-so _sorry D-Doctor…"

Tim got to his feet and helped the librarian up. "No harm done, Mary… I'm just glad that you weren't another woman like old Gotz's wife and daughter."

Mary remembered them quite well; the wife and daughter that had come up to Mother's Hill for a walk one summer day; were caught up in a violent storm and plummeted to their deaths. Gotz had become a widower and a grieving father on the same day. The pain of loss embittered and served as a warning to the villagers to be cautious on Mother's Hill; something Mary had forgotten.

She blushed when she picked up on the thinly veiled warning and nodded, frantically; something green poked at her eye, she blinked erratically.

Tim chuckled and pulled the offending piece of plant out, inspecting it casually. "It seems that you got some green grass in your eye… strange… that type of grass usually does not grow during autumn…"

Something in Mary's mind flicked on. "D-Doctor!"

Tim looked at her in surprise. "Are you quite alright Mary?"

Mary snatched the grass out of his hands, cradling it in her hands as one might do the most precious diamond on earth. "D-Doctor… this is no grass…"

Tim cocked his head in curiosity, pulling out a small magnifying glass from his coat pocket. "What do you mean?" he asked, inspecting it, "This is… clearly…" he paused, his eyes growing wider and wider by the second.

"King of the Day…" they said in unison.

They stood staring at the ordinary-looking grass for what seemed like hours. Finally, Tim managed to choke out something. "M-Mary… d-do y-you k-know w-what th-this means…?"

Mary nodded stupidly, managing to choke out something herself. "D-Doctor… t-this… m-means that…"

The Doctor shook himself vigorously and grabbed Mary by the hand. "Hurry! We need to get to the Clinic right away! If this is true… then… then…"

"If we don't use it before nightfall then it will die!" Mary finished for him.

Together, the doctor and the librarian scurried off down the mountain, forgetting about their problems and difficulties… only knowing that what they had found was so much bigger than any of that…

* * *

Unaware of the startling discovery Mary and Tim had made, Karen chatted with Eli at the Clinic; something Karen was very proud in saying; she had never gone to the Clinic; never ever.

Yet… today was different.

Karen had been sent by her father to get him cold medicine after Sasha had discovered that he was coming down with the common cold; something that her father was very paranoid about.

Karen had grudgingly gone to the Clinic to get the medicine, but had come about was something much more than just a simple 'retrieve-the-medicine-bottle' errand.

Karen had never really paid the nurse much attention. She was just that; the nurse that worked at the Clinic; nothing more, nothing less. And yet when Eli had announced that she had a crush on Rick at the first Sisterhood meeting, Karen had been intrigued by why the caring nurse had developed feelings for _Rick _of all people…

When she had entered the Clinic Karen had eyed Eli suspiciously; like for something Karen had unintentionally done to the nurse had provoked Eli to choose to go after Rick; as if to smite Karen.

And after a few pleasantries and even a few harsh words were exchanged, Karen had actually had a civilized conversation with the nurse.

Eli too, was surprised. She'd always seen Karen as an irresponsible drunk. But Karen spoke articulately and was actually pretty intelligent… which surprised her.

Little did they know, that like Tim and Mary, the Harvest Goddess was smiling down on them now… and her plan had just been put in motion.

The door to the Clinic busted open, revealing… Rick… and Gray… only something was wrong.

Rick had Gray slung over his shoulder; the blacksmith seemed to be unconscious; and there was the unmistakable color of crimson on his tunic…

"What happened!?" Eli exclaimed, rushing forward toward Rick and Gray.

Rick looked shocked, his hair was a mess and his glasses were fogged up. When he spoke his voice sounded frantic. "I don't know! He stumbled out of the Blacksmith Shop while I was feeding the chickens and he just… fell! When I checked him; I saw that he was bleeding from his side!"

Eli gave Gray a thorough yet quick one-over. She nodded and pointed beyond the curtain. "Carry him onto the bed Rick!" she commanded, running over to the curtain and drawing it open, "He's hurt; badly. He's bleeding profusely and if I don't operate now; he'll die!"

"Oh Goddess!" Rick murmured, carrying Gray over to the bed and setting him down. Eli rushed over to the bedside and ripped Gray's shirt open and looked at the wound with the eyes of a physician.

"This is bad… Darn it! Where's the doctor!?" Eli looked around; Rick had passed out at the sight of blood! She needed an assistant for this procedure! She couldn't do it alone! But who could-,

"Karen!" Eli snapped, making the blonde freeze and look at Eli in shock, "I need your help!"

Karen shook her head. "B-but I'm not a doctor-,"

Eli began applying pressure to the wound. "If you don't help me then Gray will _die_! Do you understand!? I need a hand here! Just get over here, damn it!"

Karen had never seen Eli so… angry before. No one had ever spoken to her like that before, and something in Karen clicked. She rushed over, donned a pair of gloves. Eli began issuing orders and Karen complied without question; never once registering that the man whose life she was saving was the object of her affections…

* * *

Popuri sighed as she watched the farmhand out of the corner of her eye; a bored expression on her usually energetic face.

Marlin hadn't noticed that she'd been watching him… for _two weeks, darn it!_

Like Celia had said, the guy was dense; an idiot. But there was still something about the farmhand that made her… what, _attracted _to him? It was absurd, she knew, but she really hadn't understood her attraction to Kai at the beginning either. It had just come about; one day she had just been Popuri; childish, carefree Popuri; then the next she was Popuri; helpless, love struck Popuri…

Today was their day off; hers and Rick's; so usually they trekked to Mineral Town to visit with their mother and help her with the Poultry Farm. But Popuri had been able to weasel herself out of the visit by telling Rick Jack had taken the day off to go on a date with Celia and he had asked her to take care of the farm for him.

A part of that was true…

And it wasn't the latter…

Popuri had always treasured the days she spent with her mother; she was on borrowed time, though Lilia and Tim would never admit it to her, Popuri knew…

Because she knew her mother, and each day she grew more tired, and each day Popuri watched as her vitality was drained away by the incurable illness that her father had devoted his life to finding a fabled cure.

What he should've done was stayed with her for the final years of her life…

But unlike Rick, Popuri did not blame her father for leaving them. She… couldn't say _understood_, but she could imagine what he was going through when he learned that his wife was dying and that there was only one cure.

Rick blamed their father, Tim's own father that had been the Mineral Town's doctor when his mother had first been diagnosed and Basil; who had been drunk at the time that he had told Rod of the tale of the flower in the desert that supposedly could cure any illness.

Popuri sighed; these things drained her energy; her own vitality. Such memories were better kept away behind her mask of energy and happiness…

"Damn it to hell!" Marlin screamed.

Popuri snapped back to reality and her head; ironically, snapped up to look at Marlin.

The farmhand's face was white with fury and frustration as he stared down at crop. Popuri strained her eyes and saw that that particular crop had drooped, the juicy and succulent veggie that had been growing on it beginning to look like it belonged in the hands of a frustrated crowd at a concert or something.

Marlin began kicking at the dirt in his rage, oblivious to the pink-haired girl that was making her way to him.

"I hate this stupid-," Marlin started, drawing back his leg to kick at the plant once again.

"Don't do that!" Popuri snapped.

Upon hearing that unexpected snap from behind him, Marlin lost his balance and face planted right into the spoiled veggie that he had just tried to destroy. Popuri gasped as it happened, then tried to contain her giggles when Marlin rose, squashed tomato all over his face.

"When I ask for a chicken girl's opinion," Marlin seethed, wiping the tomato off his eyes, "On how to do my job, the world will definitely end. Now get out of here."

Popuri ignored Marlin's comment and made her way to the field. She kneeled and began tending to the plant that Marlin had just squashed. Marlin watched in amazement as Popuri snapped it back into shape.

"You're doing it wrong," said Popuri, "You're not supposed to water tomatoes so much. Plus, you have it in this area where it's blocked from the sun. That'll kill it… But… if you do this…" Popuri carefully extended one of the leaves into the sun, "It _might _survive the season…"

Marlin, whose jaw had hit the ground in awe, barely could get the words out. "I thought you were a chicken rancher…"

"Yeah I am," Popuri told him as a matter-of-factly, "But I have my own garden at home and seeing as how old man Perkins taught me how to grow veggies before he died and the farm was abandoned… I think I know my way around the vegetable patch."

In reality, Marlin had always thought Popuri to be nothing but a ditz. That was it, end of story.

But to see her handle the plants; _his _plants like that… well… she just looked like… like… someone to him suddenly.

Marlin recovered and scratched his head. "W-well… what would you do to make pineapples grow better…?"

Popuri brightened. "Well, with pineapples you gotta-,"

* * *

Sophia stared down at the toilet in shock.

Why had she just thrown up?

Was it something she ate?

But she hadn't eaten _anything _in the whole day?

What… what was happening to her?

* * *

Dun dun dun... So many cliffies... oh my.

Sorry Gray fans! I love Gray too... but whether he lives or dies comes next chapter. Also, what can be ailing Sophia? What's going on with Mary and Tim; is it just a mutual interest thing, will it evolve into something more? What the heck is Popuri still doing going after that grouch Marlin!? Is he a grouch after all? Will Marlin see her as a woman?

Muahahaha... Next chapter. Sorry for this... adds suspense... and if you think stuff isn't getting 'dramatic' yet... just wait and see what I've got in store for some of my beloved characters...

R&R! You know I love it when you guys do that!!!


	14. Things Fall Apart

Hey. sorry, sorry, sorry that this is such a LATE update!!! Plus, it's short too...

It will hold answers to Gray and Sophia, but next chapter I will elaborate on Rock and maybe some others... but keep in mind that the next chapter's focus will be Rock.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Things Fall Apart 

It is the simple law that runs the universe.

Things fall apart.

Scientists call it the Law of Entropy; or that things will move from high to low energy. What must come up must come down.

Nothing is exempt from it; you can never be too happy for too long. It just isn't how the world is built. Call it karma, the hand of God, or just the Law of Entropy; but it happened. It didn't matter how you label it; that's the way it is…

For many of the residents of Mineral Town and Forget-Me-Not-Valley, their lives were about to fall apart… For others, however, life was starting to get good…

Eli's sweat-filmed head whipped to the monitor as the dreadful, heart-wrenching sound of death was emitted from it. She cursed and screamed. "He's flat-lining!"

Karen was no doctor, but she knew enough from watching shows like _Grey's Anatomy _in hotel rooms when she and her parents went on vacation to know what that shrill, continuous beep meant.

And it was because that Karen was no doctor, that she had no medical training; had never watched the life slowly fade from another's body, that she broke down, her tears falling on Gray's lifeless form.

"Time of death…" Eli murmured.

At that moment the doors to the Clinic flung open and Mary and Tim made their way inside. They almost rushed past, but Mary stopped first, eyes widening before she collapsed at the sight of Gray, lifeless on the table.

Tim, seeing Mary's fall, stopped to help her up. But when he saw the cause of her fall, he yelled something and made his way to Eli and Karen. "What happened here!?" he demanded of the nurse, strapping on some operating gloves.

"H-he's g-gone… doctor…" Eli said, tears welling up in her eyes as well.

Tim shook his head and put hands on Gray's chest, pushing hard for each heartbeat. "No, Eli! Give him mouth to mouth!"

The nurse complied, but half-heartedly.

Deaf to all around her, Mary sobbed hard. She… she still loved him, loved Gray, didn't she? She did. In that case, Mary's fist clenched around the precious specimen she and Tim had recovered… perhaps the only one of its kind, she knew what she had to do.

Dashing for the cabinet just behind the curtain, Mary grabbed a blunt instrument, and began to frantically ground the small leaf into nothing but dust. Then, frantically scooping it into her hand, the librarian ran back into the room, where Tim was still pounding on Gray's chest.

"Don't die, darn it!" Tim was yelling.

Mary ran forward, and Tim didn't notice.

_Good._

She stood at the foot of Gray's bed, then, leaning over, began to rub the dust into his wound. "Gray! Gray!" Mary yelled, Tim took notice and screamed something at her, watching as the last of the precious powder fell into his wound, "Don't die, Gray! Damn it!" Mary screamed, pushing Tim and Eli out of the way and grasping the blacksmith's hand in her own; it was pale, cold… "Gray… Gray… Gray… I… I _love you!"_

The room fell silent at Mary's outburst.

Seconds trickled by and nothing happened…

Finally, Mary broke the silence by choking on a sob and falling to her knees again. Tim grimly looked towards the clock. "Time of death, three-thirty-two-,"

"Doctor!" Eli exclaimed, gesturing towards the monitor in amazement.

"Gray?" Mary muttered, her voice breaking.

The shrill, continuous beep had ceased, and all was silent as all eyes darted towards the monitor…

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

"E-Eli!" Tim exclaimed, exchanging looks with is nurse, "Suture the wound immediately… H-he's… got a rhythm…"

Mary sobbed in relief and Karen rose, looking… grim.

Eli began to shoo them from the room when a weak, broken voice spoke. "K-Karen…" it was Gray.

And it was at that moment that Mary's heart shattered once again.

* * *

Sophia stared blankly at the monitor, too shocked to believe what she was seeing. "That right there," Hardy said while pointing at a small, black circle that bulged regularly, a smile plastered on his face, "Is the heart beat." 

"B-but…" Sophia gasped for air, not comprehending, no; too shocked to even try to comprehend what it was Hardy was showing her, "Th-that's impossible… it c-can't be true… just can't…"

Hardy sighed. "It only takes once, Sophia," Hardy said in a measured, patient tone, "Just once… I assume you're going to tell the father about this…?"

"It's Kai," Sophia announced indignantly, offended by the fact that Hardy did not know who the father was; that he was implying that she had no morals whatsoever and didn't know who the father of her own child was, "Kai is my fiancé." She flashed the diamond ring that adorned her finger that Kai had given her quickly for emphasis.

Hardy's eyes softened at that, and then he ran a hand over his bald head. "I apologize if I offended you, but pregnancy isn't something you should do on your own if you can help it. You need support, Sophia… and while support from friends is good… you need support from family too, and from Kai."

"But Kai doesn't come back until next summer…" Sophia said in a broken voice.

Hardy shook his head in something that seemed to be disappointment. "I assume there's someway you can get in contact with him, then?"

Sophia remembered the address Zach had given her last year when she sent the cookies to Kai. "Y-yes…"

"Good," Hardy said, "Then I suggest you tell him to get back here quickly. Now, why don't we discuss your plan, I'll tell you your due date, then I'll tell you what you need to do. Leaving alcohol is a must, you can't drive yourself too hard, and you should come back for regular check-ups every two weeks, I'd say."

It was only then that Sophia realized that her life was coming down around her.

* * *

Sorry... short, I know...

Anyway, the whole 'K-Karen' thing on Gray's part was simple, in case some of you are confused; Karen had already made advances on Gray (as we saw at the Fireworks Festival when Kai and Sophia went in their first date... aww, good times...) and Gray has totally let go of Mary and is ready for someone new; and that person; the person that had been nice to him and made herself known in Mary's place, is Karen...

I DO feel bad for poor Mary though, and I DO love her SO much... I hate myself for doing that... but in this story, Gray doesn't deserve her and vice versa. Mary deserves BETTER... whether it be Tim or not...we'll see.

So, expect an update! Bye!

R&R!


	15. Truths

Hey guys! Day late; but I have an excuse: yesterday was a holiday: Veteran's Day! Well, I took that opportunity to tweak this rather... dramatic and stromg chapter a bit before delivering it to you guys! So I guess that's good news, right?

Note that this chapter has rather strong language. That's not all, but it may seem a bit confusing to you guys... I'm aiming for that; just wait until the next update and things will be explained.

Just enjoy the chapter, mkay?

* * *

Chapter Fouteen: Truths

Sophia was in a daze.

She… she had something… _someone_ growing inside of her… It was… hers…

No… it was theirs… hers and Kai's.

But would Kai want the child? Would his sentiments change because she was pregnant? Would he skip out on his responsibilities because she was now bearing the thing that would bring his life of a traveler to an end?

Ah, their _plans…_

Even before he had proposed, Kai had begun talking to Sophia about the places he'd like to take her when they were married. Places to see, things to eat, people to meet, he'd said…

But now, oh a _baby…_

Babies needed stability; they needed a continuity of place and a loving family. If they traveled, the baby would only have the support of her and Kai, not of the family he'd have if she would stay.

He would not see Muffy's dazzling smile and learn from her wisdom, would not learn to be strong from Takakura, would not learn the charms of sarcasm from Romana or how to be kind from Celia…

Oh… and moving from place to place every day…

Their child would not stay in the place where he was born; would not take his first steps in the backyard of the place of where he was born, would not learn to speak there, or learn to climb the same tree or look up at the same sky…

And that scared her; the fact that the baby would rob her from the experiences that Kai had promised her they would share.

But it wasn't out of selfishness; it wasn't because she would miss out on seeing the world…

It was because she was afraid; afraid that Kai would not want her anymore now that she couldn't go with him places… now that she was carrying a ton of responsibilities within her…

Did the ring she wore really outweigh all those responsibilities? Did the feather he'd given her really promise all that much?

The scary thing was that she didn't know... she just didn't know...

* * *

Within the Inner Inn a conflict of its own was brewing.

Early that morning Nami had awoken to discover that Ruby's antique tribal statue from South America had been shattered to little pieces. Itty bitty, unfixable pieces…

While the traveler had tried to collect the pieces none other than Ruby had come up the stairs to wake up Rock. When she saw the state of her most prized possession she let out a scream that brought Tim running up the stairs and Rock jumping up in bed.

When Ruby questioned Nami about what had happened, she came to the conclusion that it was Rock that had destroyed the statue.

The man in question had just strolled out of his room. Ruby had shrieked at her son, who had looked so bewildered that he almost ran away.

Nami had not asked for this, and when Ruby began to reprimand her son Nami went to his aid…

"You are not to get involved in this!" Ruby had snapped, looking at Nami as she would a piece of garbage, "You are not part of this family! You do not belong in these discussions!"

Ruby's face showed no trace of regret.

Nami's beautiful blue eyes that had softened over her time in the Valley seemed to undergo several changes at once. First, they melted. Water pooled in them, threatening to overflow. Then they hardened; froze over. It was like the day she had first walked into the Inn; her eyes had become so guarded and rigid that one might think that the young woman was not a human being at all.

"Fine," Nami had said coldly, all trace of the weakness she had just shown gone as if it had never been there at all, "I'll just take my leave of this place, then."

Nami had calmly walked into her room, slammed the door and would not open it despite how Tim begged her to.

Rock had tried to talk to Nami, but Ruby would not hear of it. She blamed Rock for how Nami had reacted. The match had escalated into a screaming match; one that was extremely personal. One where old grievances were dragged out and things that should never be said were said.

Halfway through, Nami emerged from her room bearing her backpack. She coldly gave Tim a handful of coins and scurried down the stairs as others came running into the Inn to see what the matter was.

* * *

Sophia was getting sick to her stomach again when she heard the screams coming from the Inner Inn. Puzzled, she looked up into the window, thinking that maybe that obscured view would grant her some answers.

"Sophia!" Muffy called as she and Griffin scurried down the road, "Sophia! What's going on?"

If felt good to hear Muffy's voice… she hadn't spoken to her best friend since Kai had left… Goddess, she needed to tell her…

"I-I d-don't know…" Sophia stuttered, the nausea washing over her in waves now.

Muffy nodded to Griffin and grabbed Sophia's hand. "C'mon, Sophia!" Muffy said, blonde curls bouncing each time she took a step, "Something big is happening!"

Inside the Inn, they ran into a small crowd.

Celia and Lumina were talking to Nami in a pleading tone. The redhead's eyes were like stone; unwavering yet rigid as the arctic.

"Where are you going to go, Nami?" Celia asked, looking absolutely distraught, "Please Nami, please… you can stay with me; with anyone! Just don't go!"

Nami said nothing; she just pushed past Lumina and Celia and made her way towards the door. "What's going on!?" Muffy demanded, trying desperately to make eye contact with Nami.

"She's leaving!" Lumina cried tearfully, her eyes jumping to Sophia in desperation, "Do something, Sophia!"

The room was spinning so fast…

"Nami! Stop!" someone cried.

Sophia felt her throat burn as the bile rose in her throat.

"Sophia!?" someone shouted, "Sophia what's wrong!?"

Oh God…

Sophia lurched over and threw up, feeling absolutely miserable as she did so. The figures around her were nothing but blurs… but they came closer and closer to her, speaking in concerned and frantic voices…

When she had finished, Sophia noticed that she was on her knees, shivering uncontrollably as she hugged herself. Muffy's arm was wrapped around her shoulder and she recognized Celia's dirty skirt and Lumina's light blue jeans around her…

"Sophia!?" Muffy sounded absolutely terrified when her voice filtered into her ears, "What happened!? Sophia!?"

"I'm… fine…" Sophia managed, trying to get up on wobbly knees that almost gave out as she rose, "Just… fine…"

Lumina seemed to shake herself. "Nami's gone!"

She and Celia rushed out the door, leaving Muffy and Sophia all alone in the room.

The screams were getting louder and closer now, Sophia noted… Rock appeared in the stairwell, a look of such anger on his young face that Sophia doubted that he was Rock.

Then Ruby; her usually motherly face contorted into such rage and hatred that she seemed like someone else entirely; as if am angry person had taken over Ruby's body.

"You've never loved me!" Rock was screaming, "I just can't compare to your precious Ken, can I!?"

"Don't you dare speak of him like that!" Ruby screamed, voice hoarse as she had been screaming all day, "Don't you dare speak of _my son_ like that you bastard! You've brought nothing but shame and suffering to me, you damned child!"

Sophia thought she saw Rock's expression waver in sorrow and agony, but it was only a flash… only for a second… "I wish I had never been born!" Rock screamed, tanned hands pulling at his hair violently, "Why did you keep me, you witch! Why didn't you just let me die and take your precious son instead!?"

"I wish I could have!" Ruby screamed, such hatred as she said it, "I wish you could've died in my womb if it meant Ken would have lived! That boy was good; he was _my son_! You are nothing but a mistake! A vile act manifested in human form! Each time I look at you I see his face! You do no good; just like him! You do nothing for me! Instead, when I save your wretched life; foster it in my womb, you repay me by killing my son!"

Rock's face scrunched up; as if he were about to cry. "I did not kill my brother…" he muttered, eyes looking at something only he could see.

Ruby's face became so red, Sophia felt so angry… the room was spinning again… She felt Muffy's hand tighten on her shoulder in what appeared to be rage. "He was _not your brother!_ You come from that monster! That boy came from a good man; from love! All you come from is hate and sickness!" the figures became blurred by red in her eyes; Sophia thought she could feel the thumping of her baby's heartbeat within her, "I want you out! Get out you monster! I despise you, you damned-,"

Sophia broke free from Muffy's vice-like grip… When she came to, Ruby was on the floor, a look of shock on her face as red began to seep into her dark cheeks.

"_How dare you!?_" Sophia bellowed at Ruby, no longer herself, "_How dare you do this to your child!?_" her hand flew to her belly, grabbed it protectively, "How could you curse that part of you!? He's no monster; you are!"

She felt Muffy's hand on her shoulder; saw Tim race down the stairs, shoot her a murderous stare and help his wife up, who was beginning to sob uncontrollably. He led her into their room and locked the door behind them.

"Rock…" she heard someone say; Muffy. She said it as if just the mention of her friend's name could ease all the pain he was feeling; could erase all the agony and the wrongs that had been done against him…

"Sorry… sorry you had to hear that…" Rock said, voice breaking.

"You have nowhere to stay, do you?" Muffy asked him."I-I… I guess not…" Rock managed, getting the words out through shallow breaths.

"You can stay with Jack…" Sophia found herself saying, "Jack will let you stay with him." There was silence; then, almost reluctantly, Rock nodded and began to walk out the door.

When Muffy guided Sophia out the door, she keeled over again and threw-up in the bushes as Muffy held her hair back.

* * *

Okay, so there you go!

I know you guys are going to be a bit confused and all; but like I said, wait until next update!

Oh, Ruby might have seemed a bit (understatement, I know...) OOC. This will all be explained soon enough; bare with me, please!

Sorry I haven't been able to get back to some of you on your reviews... Hectic schedule... Still, know that I appreciate them SO much and make writing much more worthwhile than it already is! Thanks for your support guys; please keep it up. I promise I'll continue doing my best on all my stories.

Until next time, bye!


	16. I Want to Make You Whole

Hey, guys! Foreigner update!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: I Want to Make You Whole

News of Ruby's outburst spread quickly through the Valley. Nami's disappearance had brought a pang of sadness to the people, and Rock leaving the Inn and living in Jack's barn fostered contempt for Ruby.

Ruby had not set foot outside her room in days. Popuri had spread the word that she had been leaving the Inn one morning when she caught the door slightly ajar. She'd heard Ruby wailing a name again and again, Tim's agitated voice trying to soothe her…

"She just kept saying 'Ken, Ken, Ken' like she was a broken record," Popuri had told Muffy later at the Blue Bar as she nursed a hot cocoa.

Autumn was beginning to turn to winter, the citizens of Forget-Me-Not-Valley observed… The leaves had all but fallen now, leaving the trees bare and almost withered. People had begun to bundle up lightly…

But people had begun looking at Sophia strangely. It was too hot for heavy coats, and yet Sophia was always wearing bulky clothes. She always seemed to be in a hurry; and the only times she'd leave the Villa it was to go to Hardy's Clinic or visit Muffy or Takakura, who claimed they knew nothing of her strange behavior and the ailment that always had her sick to her stomach.

Muffy had begun visiting Rock at Jack's farm regularly, bringing him hot cocoa and fresh food that's he had attempted to make. Rock was never chatty, never revealing…

Then, one day; the first wave of good news came…

It was late in autumn when Celia's squeal pierced the air. Vesta and Marlin had gone running to the Goddess Spring… only to find Jack bended on one knee; Celia crying tears of joy…

The wedding was set a week later, and so many people fawned over Celia; helping her choose her dress, the decorations, the food…

The Sisterhood was thrilled; but there were some that were sad, jealous…

Sophia seemed to fall into a melancholy at the news. She had rubbed her stomach which was already starting to bulge a bit and had wept a little in the sanctuary of her room, cradling her blue feather in her arms; the feather that had begun to lose its shine.

Although Muffy put up the front that she was thrilled for her good friend, behind that mask of boundless energy and enthusiasm was the discouragement… the feeling that she would not find love as Celia had. Muffy had laid off pursuing Rock for a bit, letting him rest in the darkness of the barn…

Mary had nodded at the appropriate times, her puffy eyes partially magnified by her round eyeglasses. She looked at Karen in defeat and envy; envy as she helped Gray walk again and their relationship flowered. Tim had not spoken to her since the incident; he blamed her for losing the specimen of the King of the Day. Mary was more alone than ever…

But the others; Popuri, Karen, Elli, Flora and especially Celia were so very happy on those days of the preparations. Their relationships were flowering as well… Popuri and Marlin had gone out on dates, even kissed; Karen and Gray were starting to fall in love; Elli had begun to get closer to Rick, and the poultry farmer had not objected. And Flora; Flora had started the unlikely romance with none other than Darryl.

The week of preparation went by so fast that they could hardly believe it. On the eve before the wedding, Muffy had insisted they have a bachelorette party at the Blue Bar. They had gathered late that night, and they had drank, save Sophia, that had come up with an excuse not to.

"I can't believe I'm getting married," Celia repeated for what most have been the umpteenth time that night.

"Yeah, yeah," Karen said as she cradled her beer with a contented smile, "I already know, little cousin."

Celia slapped Karen on the back playfully, almost making her drop her drink. "I can't believe it's Jack," Celia continued, the light in her eyes more radiant than ever, "I always loved him you know… from the day that I met him…"

Muffy flinched behind the counter; Sophia let her fingers brush against the blue feather in her pocket fleetingly; Mary adjusted her glasses to hide the tears that were forming there…

Celia, who seemed to be in her own little dream world, went on and on about how she loved Jack; how she was so sure that they would spend the rest of their lives together, have children, play with their grandchildren, cultivate their farm together…

Muffy seemed to recoil at every loving word that Celia spoke. Finally, as Celia went into a fresh retelling of how Jack had popped the question, Muffy excused herself and ran up the stairs.

All eyes fell on Sophia, who was stirring her soda absently with her straw. When she noticed that everyone was looking at her, Sophia sighed and wobbled over to the backroom on already swollen ankles.

Sophia had always thought that Griffin's and Muffy's rooms were so different… Griffin's room was dull; sparsely decorated with only a bed and his golden guitar. Muffy's room was painted in a vibrant red; adorned with all sorts of beautiful decorations that captured her bubbly, energetic self perfectly.

When Sophia entered Muffy's room, she found her on the floor, crying softly as she toyed with a diamond ring.

She stood there in silence, watching her best friend cry; trying to muster up the emotional strength to deal with someone else's problems…

Muffy looked up, her cheeks dirty with dark tears that had mixed with her mascara; washing away the rouge she wore on her cheeks. She beckoned Sophia over and she came, sitting on her bed.

"You know," Muffy managed after taking in a deep, shuddering breath, "this ring was given to me ten years ago, if you believe it… I was eighteen; right out of high school, fighting with my parents so that I wouldn't have to go to college… and most importantly; hopelessly in love…"

"Who?" Sophia asked softly.

Muffy grinned in remembrance. "He was a hunk; let me tell you. The quarterback of the football team; tall, dark, handsome…" the grin faded away, "He proposed to me at the graduation party he was throwing at his house… and, silly me, I accepted…"

"What happened?" Sophia insisted, wringing her hands in her lap and looking down at them.

"I basically sent my parents straight to hell," Muffy muttered, "They'd always thought I could go to college; had a trust fund all set up and everything…" Muffy's voice broke; Sophia gave her a moment to compose herself, "And I ran away with my fiancé to his college where he'd gotten a full scholarship for playing football.

"Long story short he got injured his first year there so bad that he could never play football again," Muffy said coolly, no doubt remembering the event, "He… took his anger out on me; he never hit me or anything, but he would always insult me and treat me like crap when I had give him everything I could afford to give him…" Muffy shivered, "I left him and drifted for a while until I met Griffin in the city… he was the bartender and I was just a waitress…"

"And that's when you came here?"

Muffy nodded. "Our pay over there wasn't that good. Griffin was watching out for me even then…" she smiled sadly, "So he told me about his plans to open a bar in this small town and promised me better pay and room and board. I accepted and I came here… This place… there wasn't anyone here to break my heart anymore; no one that I was interested in at least… But… Sophia… even though here I can't get my heart broken… I still want to try and find love…"

"Why?" Sophia demanded, meeting Muffy's eyes for the first time in a long time, "Why do you want to fall in love? It's so much easier to live without it, Muffy!" her grip tightened around the feather in her pocket so that she made a fist, "Why do you put yourself through so much pain and worry all the time?"

Muffy looked at Sophia thoughtfully, only now noticing her friend's pain. "I-I… I need to be whole," Sophia's head snapped up to look at Muffy's sad, puffy and red face, "All my life… I've known that there's this… void right here," Muffy's pale hand flitted to her chest, "There's no reason why; it's just there… It's always been there; tearing at me from the inside out… and when that quarterback told me he loved me; that hole was suddenly gone.

"And even though it gets bigger and bigger each time I get rejected, or dumped…" Muffy hugged herself, "If I don't fill this void I… my life will be so empty… and I don't want it to be empty…" Muffy looked up, "One last time… for one last time Sophia… I'm going to try… _now_."

Sophia looked at Muffy in confusion through her midnight bangs. "What do you mean?" she asked nervously, "Muffy… don't do anything stupid!"

Muffy shook her head, rising. "I can't take it anymore… I'm going to tell Rock the way I feel about him."

"Muffy… don't-," Sophia started.

"I _need to_ Sophia," Muffy told her, vibrant green eyes flashing with determination, "If you're my friend then you know what I have to do… and that you can't stop me."

Sophia looked straight into Muffy's eyes and sighed. But she stayed silent. Muffy mouthed a 'thank you' and began to run out of the room.

* * *

How clear it was now, Muffy thought to herself as she ran towards Jack's farm in her high heels, ignoring the pain and never allowing herself to fall when she tripped in the clumsy, constricting shoes.

She knew now that if she waited for things to play out then the void in her heart would only grow; and when she finally did find someone to love she might never be able to love again because of the pain.

She rushed past Jack's empty farmhouse; the men had all gone to Mineral Town for the bachelor party; all of them except one; the best man. Rock had stayed.

Muffy threw open the doors to the barn where a fade light could be seen. Rock looked up from where he lay on a stack of hay that he'd made as a makeshift bed.

Rock had changed over the weeks that he'd been away from the Inn. His hair, usually so full of luster and shine was dull and unkempt. His face that had always been full of playful energy had lost its tan; becoming a sickly shade of pale, his eyes had lost their shine, his face was, to put it simply, miserable.

"Muffy?" Rock asked her, rubbing his eyes, "I thought you were supposed to be at the bachelorette party…"

His voice had turned hollow since the incident in the Inn; a hollowness that Muffy hated when it reached her ears. She looked into Rock's orange tinted eyes; his eyes darted away, avoiding hers. Muffy didn't try to hold them; not yet.

"I was," she said, hoping she was giving off the confidence she was aiming for, "But while I was listening to Celia talk about how much she loved Jack I noticed something I should've noticed a long time ago."

Rock's eyes looked up and into Muffy's green orbs. "Muffy…"

"But before I tell you what I noticed," Muffy said, ignoring the mention of her name, "I want you to tell me your story."

Rock scowled and looked away. "I'm not up for it."

"I'm not going anywhere," Muffy huffed, kicking some hay out from under her and taking a seat across from Rock, "So you can hold it in for as long as you want… I'm sure we can live off cow milk."

Rock's lip curled, his eye twitched… if Muffy hadn't blinked at that moment she would've thought that was a smile. It disappeared in that instant of time, leaving Muffy wishing that she could see that radiant smile she loved most about Rock.

"You're not leaving, huh?" Rock mumbled just loud enough for Muffy to hear.

"Nope," Muffy said, then shrugged, "You might as well tell me, you know…"

Rock sighed, ran a hair through his grimy hair and looked at the roof. "I had a brother…" Muffy blinked a little in surprise, but said nothing, "His name was Ken… But the thing was that he wasn't my… brother-brother… he was my half-brother…"

"Ruby cheated on Tim!?" Muffy exclaimed in shock.

Rock shook his head weakly. "No… if only it had been that simple…" Rock got a sad look in his eyes, "Mom- Ruby, I mean… she was… raped," Muffy gasped, Rock recoiled.

"And… you…?" Muffy managed.

He nodded, looking down into his lap. "Yes… I am the product of that…" Muffy looked at Rock sadly, hoping that she could do something, _anything_, to make all that pain go away, "But… even though mom and dad didn't… love me… my big brother Ken did… he basically taught me everything I know… and he was… like, you know… my role model."

Muffy waited as Rock paused, searching for the right words to finally release the story that had been plaguing him for so long. "But… when he was seven and me five… we went… swimming… mom warned me not to go into the deep water… but I did… and a whirlpool, or something… sucked me in…"

"Oh, _Rock_," Muffy whispered, knowing where the story was going.

"I was drowning… drowning under all this water…" Rock whispered, tears trailing down his cheeks, "But… when I was about to go… Ken… he saved me… pulled me out of the tide… and I floated to the surface…"

"And Ken…?" Muffy asked him, already knowing the answer.

Rock shook his head. "The tide… it was too strong… and when he went to get me out… it pulled him in… and… and…" his voice broke.

Muffy shot up and ran over to Rock. Then, like a mother, she gathered him in her arms and held him. "Mom… mom hated me because of that…" Rock sobbed, "Because I killed him…"

"You _didn't kill him_," Muffy snapped, running her hands through his hair, "It wasn't your fault."

They stayed like that for a long time until Rock quieted and Muffy pulled away, her shirt drenched in his tears. She took his hands in both of hers. "My turn, huh?" she said, smiling at him through her own tears.

She told him, told him about all her heartbreaks… She had begun to cry when she finally reached the point about her feelings. "Rock…" she whispered nervously, "I know that this may not be the right time… but…" she met his eyes; this time he didn't look away, "I want to make you whole."

Rock's puffy, red-rimmed eyes widened, but Muffy spoke before he could say anything. "I've felt this way for a long time," she explained, suddenly feeling very scared, "But I've… never told you because… I'm afraid," she admitted, "I'm afraid that you'll break my heart like so many of the others-,"

Rock pressed his lips on her cheek, effectively silencing her. Muffy could only look at him in shock as he spoke. "Y-you… love me?"

Muffy smiled sadly. "I'm afraid so… I'm… sorry…"

"Don't be…" Rock said, "Please… don't be… Muffy, please?" Muffy pulled him into a hug, "Thank you for… loving me… I-I… I love you too…" he whispered.

And so it was that the heartbroken lady and the loveless young man had finally received what they had always lacked yet desired with every fiber of their being.

* * *

Sophia dipped her pen in the ink bottle one last time, signing her name with a quivering hand. It was a letter. To Kai.

He deserved to know. She needed him back; now. Her fears; they were still there, begging her to stay silent… but she knew… a part of her insisted that Kai could never betray her that way; that the man that she had fallen in love with would never… could never betray her in such a way.

Not taking a second thought, Sophia rushed into town and threw the letter into the mailbox.

There was no turning back now…

* * *

Enjoyed it? Show your love by reviewing!

Oh, and, 'Of Love and Faith' and 'Where the Heart is' fans, I'm updating OLaf as usual; tomorrow, but WtHi I'm updating on Wednesday since Thursday and Friday are Thanksgiving break and I'm off :). So, don't worry! You'll get your helping of my fics this week!

See ya guys then!


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